


Curly Brow and Marimo

by LadyLiberal



Series: Curly Brow and Marimo [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Dirty Talk, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Smut, F/M, Female Vinsmoke Sanji, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Genderbending, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Lemon, Masturbation, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Sex, Shameless Smut, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2019-09-12 18:01:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 139,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16877634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLiberal/pseuds/LadyLiberal
Summary: At an engagement party for his friends, Zoro sees and hears a gorgeous blonde singing like an angel. Zoro doesn't understand the feelings he has developed for Nami's girl friend from college, Sanji.This is a ZoSan story, Sanji is female.Rated Mature for language and lemons.





	1. The Engagement Party

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.

Zoro was lost: story of his life.

Here he was, driving all over the place to go to a party he didn’t really want to attend. It took him three days to get to Alabasta; for people who are not directionally challenged it would only be a day’s worth of driving, but it’s Zoro. Plus, he’s too stubborn to use a GPS, because that would be admitting he gets lost.

Since, he worked for himself, he could take as much time off as he wanted or needed. This came in handy because he really didn’t like flying places and really did prefer to drive. So, he spent Thursday night at a hotel in town and then Friday morning and afternoon getting ready for this damn party. And _now_ he was having trouble finding the place. He had already been driving around for an hour—even though Nami had given him the address and directions.

He _was_ in Alabasta, but just now he drove past a sign that said he was leaving town.

Deciding to get some assistance, Zoro called up his friend, Sabo, who answered after the first ring, “You’re lost aren’t you?”

He scowled, “Is this place outside of town?”

“Yeah, just off the main road, there is a huge gate—you can’t miss it.” Sabo snorted, “Well, _you_ could.”

Zoro grunted at him, “Shut up, I’ll be there soon.” He hung up the phone and after a few minutes he finally spotted the large gate described to him.

The long driveway split the perfectly manicured lawn in half. As he reached the place—house doesn’t do it justice, its closer to a mansion or perhaps a palace—Zoro was speechless.

_The fuck? Is that a fountain in the middle of the driveway?!_

As he pulled up to the staircase leading into the mansion, Zoro was delighted to hand over his keys to the valet, who in turn gave him a tag with a number. They drove his car off to wherever they were parking them and Zoro made his way up the stairs. When the heavy double doors were opened for him, Zoro’s jaw dropped at the sight of the interior.

Vivi’s father’s mansion was clearly already expensive as shit, there were marble floors and columns, large paintings and sculptures that seemed to be a part of the foundation of the place. And it was decked out for the party of the century. The guests were even being served appetizers and champagne on round plates that were carried around by waiters. It was obvious the place had been decorated for the occasion of Nami and Vivi’s engagement.

The whole place was fancy—not that he expected anything less when it came to Nami and Vivi. They had always been into the nicest and most expensive possessions that money could buy, just one of the many things they had in common. So, it was obvious that when it came to their engagement celebration the same rules would apply. The exterior was just the tip of the iceberg.

He had known Nami, along with Luffy, Ace, Sabo, Usopp, and Robin since they were young kids. They weren’t all the same age, Robin was the oldest, then Ace and Sabo, then Zoro, followed by Nami, Usopp, and Luffy. They each left their hometown when they finished high school—to follow their dreams. They all stayed close and saw each other quite often, even though they lived in different places, and he was excited to see them.

Zoro still was feeling overwhelmed and anxious by the extravagance of everything around him. Nami had reminded him several times the party was a black-tie affair. Luckily, he took the time to go out and purchase a tuxedo that would fit him properly in preparation for this party. He actually got one custom-made since he has such unusually large chest and arm measurements.

After the initial shock of the place faded away, Zoro closed his mouth and walked deeper into the mansion. The first room was very large and open with high ceilings, there was a large staircase that split into two at the center of the room, which lead to second level balcony. There was a large chandelier hung from the ceiling that was covered in large crystals and probably expensive—if not priceless. Between the vases filled with red roses and the soft lull of string instruments being played, Zoro found everything to be very intimate and romantic, it was unsettling.

Considering how many wealthy socialites were present, Zoro was grateful he took the time to buy a proper tuxedo. Not that he really cared, Zoro wasn’t concerned with impressing any of these people, but he realized he would have stood out even more than he already did with his bright green hair and scar over his eye. The deeper he made his way through the crowd of people, the more uncomfortable he felt. He tried to make his way into the next room in search of someone he knew.

In that next room was a large buffet of food, and Zoro thought it smelled amazing. However, he knew that where there is food, there is Luffy and Ace. And sure enough, the two brothers were making fools of themselves as they stood at a table and stuffed their faces like wild animals. They didn’t even bother using a plate and ate straight from the serving trays. People were staring at them and whispering amongst themselves. Zoro decided he would keep looking. He _really_ did not want to willingly let all these people know he was associated with them.

_What idiots… How can they act like that in this place?_

There was a hum of voices coming from another room, so Zoro decided to head in that direction. He tended to wander around aimlessly until he arrived where he wanted, he wasn’t lost.

This next room was very large and had tables set up with vases of red roses at their centers. Almost immediately, Zoro spotted the table his friends were at—thanks to Robin’s very large and recognizable boyfriend, Franky. The two had met a few years ago at the college Robin had attended for her masters in anthropology/archeology. Even though Robin was such a serious and no-nonsense person, Franky seemed to bring some laughter into her life and in return she calmed Franky’s eccentric personality down.

Zoro began to make his way over to them with a slight smirk on his lips.

Usopp noticed him first, “Oi, oi! It’s Zoro!” He waved his arm above his head as his other arm was wrapped around his wife, Kaya. The two had met a couple years ago and got married after only being together for a couple of months. Apparently, they knew they wanted to be together forever early on in their relationship.

“Hey Zoro! Have trouble finding the place?” Sabo smirked at him with a knowing look in his eyes. The woman beside him had orange hair like Nami, only shorter, but Zoro had never met her before. With a lighthearted chuckle, Sabo gestured to her, “This is my girlfriend, Koala.”

As Zoro took an empty seat at the table, beside Kid, Luffy’s long-time boyfriend, who was talking to Ace’s husband, Marco, he realized he was the only one who didn’t have a date.

He nodded to Koala, “Nice to meet you. I’m—”

“Zoro.” She smiled at him, “I feel like I already know you since Sabo talks about you all so much!”

“How’d you two meet?” He asked out of curiosity, Zoro was used to Sabo being the other single one of their friends, in fact, he was rather surprised to learn he had a girlfriend.

Sabo answered, “We met at the grocery store in the neighborhood a few weeks ago. Koala had just moved to the area and—”

“And Sabo was _such_ a sweetheart~” Koala had a huge smile on her face, “He showed me around and helped me rearrange the furniture in my new place and unpack… Well one thing led to another—”

“Pshh!” Sabo playfully rolled his eyes and turned to Zoro, completely serious he said, “I fell in love the moment I saw her,” then he smiled at Koala and placed a swift kiss on her cheek.

Zoro didn’t know what to say, so he tried his best to smile and stayed quiet. Then Robin touched his arm, and told him with a sweet smile, “You look very handsome in that tuxedo, Zoro.”

He grunted, “It’s ridiculous, I can’t believe I had to buy it for this party.” Zoro wasn’t going to admit that he was actually _really grateful_ he bothered to do so.

“I think you look SUPER!” Franky shouted, giving him two thumbs up.

Zoro rolled his eye, he honestly didn’t care much how he looked as long as he didn’t make a fool of himself. Not that he was prone to do such a thing, unlike Luffy and Ace. Speaking of, “Marco. Kid,” Zoro called them out, “What the hell? Do you two not feed those two?”

Kid glared at him, “As if! You should _see_ our grocery bill. The amount of meat _alone—_ ” The redhead rubbed his temple in frustration and Marco gave him a sympathetic look.

“I know what you mean, yoi. Ace eats _so much food._ I have no idea where it goes, though. The guy is _solid_ muscle—believe me, _I know_.” A sultry grin crossed Marco’s features as he made the unnecessary implication about his and Ace’s sex life.

Everyone at the table groaned at the comment except Koala, Robin, and Franky; the three of them laughed.

None of his friends asked him about not having a date. Although it wasn’t like he ever brought anyone else with him to these types of things to begin with. And truthfully, he hadn’t even thought about it until Sabo introduced him to his girlfriend.

Zoro had never been interested in someone like that, and therefore never bothered dating. He also didn’t really see the point: why he would want some other person to be a part of his life when he already had his nakama. Anything more would’ve been an unnecessary distraction keeping him from accomplishing his dream. However, seeing all of them with someone made him feel weird.

 _I don’t even know if I’m into men or women… I’ve never found anyone attractive, at least not in the way Ace talks about Marco…*_ shivers _* I don’t like to think about it. Whatever, doesn’t matter—it’s not important to concern myself with such things._

Nami came over to their table with a huge smile on her face, “Hey everyone! I’m so happy you could make it!” She studied Zoro, then nodded approvingly and winked, “You look good! I’m impressed how well you clean up, Zoro.”

Zoro grunted at her, “You said it was black-tie. I’m not such an idiot to show up underdressed.”

She began to scowl at him, and honestly, Nami looked like she wanted to hit him. Instead she shook her head then sighed, “Whatever, I’m just glad you are _finally_ here and presentable.” With a smile, she came and gave him a hug around his shoulders, “Thanks for coming.”

“You’re welcome,” he mumbled out, embarrassed that she was showing him a friendly gesture. He assumed it was because she didn’t want to make a scene and not because she was actually happy with him for once.

When Nami pulled away and fixed her dress, she explained, “One of my best friends from college is going to be performing in a bit. I will introduce everyone to her later,” she turned to Robin, “You remember Sanji, right?”

Robin’s face lit up, “Yes, of course!”

Nami grinned, “Yeah, well I need to go find her—see you!”

She waved to them with a smile and disappeared into the crowd. Zoro ended up going up to the bar and got himself a drink. He could already tell he would be needing it if he was going to get through this night.

Not that he wasn’t happy for Nami—for all his friends—but Zoro was feeling a little sorry for himself. It was a little weird being at this party alone when all his friends had someone. This was very unlike him, Zoro wasn’t interested in things such as love and romance. He always had been focused on becoming the best swordsman in the world, it was his dream and with years of hard work and determination, he achieved it. Seeing Sabo look so happy with Koala and being here to celebrate Nami and Vivi’s engagement, made Zoro feel weird. And being the only one of his friends who was alone and single irritated him. He was getting _so_ frustrated thinking about it.

So, Zoro began to do what he did best: drink. Besides, he knew his friends wouldn’t suspect anything was wrong if he started excessively drinking. One of the few perks of having a high alcohol tolerance was he _always_ drank excessively.

He ended up staying at the bar, getting refills on his sake as soon as his glass was finished, not counting how many drinks he had. Since it was an open bar, Zoro didn’t have to worry about paying for them. He sure as hell was going to enjoy Nami and Vivi’s generosity to his content and his abused liver’s _dis_ content.

Once he had a small buzz going, Zoro was still having the bartender refill his glass when suddenly, the lights in the room began to dim and jazz music began to play in the background, silencing the room of people.

Upon turning around towards a stage, Zoro saw several people playing various brass and string instruments, as well as a man at a piano. And standing front and center was a blonde woman who began to passionately sing. (“All Of Me” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

 _What would I do without your smart mouth_  
Drawing me in and you kicking me out?  
Ya got my head spinning, no kidding  
I can't pin you down  
What's going on in that beautiful mind?  
I'm on your magical mystery ride  
And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me  
But I'll be alright  
  


__Some backup singers joined in some ‘ooo’s, but Zoro paid them no mind. He was too focused on the blonde singing like an angel.

 __  
My head's underwater  
But I'm breathing fine  
You're crazy and I'm, I’m out of my mind  
  
'Cause all of me loves all of you  
Love your curves, all your edges  
All your perfect imperfections  
Give your all to me, I'll give my all to you  
You're my end and my beginning  
Even when I lose, I'm winning  
I give you all of me

 _You give me all of you, Ohh_  
  


Zoro had never heard such a pretty singing voice, so rich and full of raw emotion. The blonde woman singing had her hair in some fancy up-do and her bangs covered her left eye. When she had opened her one visible eye, Zoro noticed it was a vibrant blue color and another thing—her eyebrow delicately curled on the left end. He’d never seen anything like it.

 __  
How many times do I have to tell you  
Even when you're crying, you're beautiful too?  
The world is beating you down  
I'm around through every mood  
You're my downfall, you're my muse  
My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues  
Can't stop singing, it’s ringing in my head for you  
  
My head's underwater  
But I'm, I’m breathing fine  
You're crazy and I'm, I’m out of my mind  
  
'Cause all of me loves all of you  
Love your curves and all your edges  
All your perfect imperfections  
Give your all to me, I'll give my all to you  
You're my end and my beginning  
Even when I lose, I'm winning  
I give you all of me, yeah

_You give me all of you_

_Give me all of you!_

_Cards on the table we’re both showing hearts_

_Risking it although it’s hard_

The music slowed down and Zoro watched with his eye wide as the woman closed her eye and sang with so much emotion he could fucking _feel_ it. The expressions on her flawless face were genuine and shown wholeheartedly, she was filled with passion.

_Cause of all of me loves all of you_

_Love your curves and all your edges_

_All your perfect imperfections_  
Give your all to me, I'll give my all to you  
You're my end and my beginning  
Even when I lose, I'm winning  
I give you all of me, yeah

_You give me all of you_

__  
I give you all of me  
You give me all of you

Zoro had walked back to the table his friends were at, drink in hand. Nami and Vivi had also joined them, but Zoro didn’t realize any of this until he heard Nami start talking in his ear, “That’s my friend Sanji. I met her back in college, isn’t she great?”

Still with his eye on the woman, Sanji. Zoro nodded his head, not bothering to say anything. Zoro found her… _intriguing_ and continued staring up at her on the stage as she began to sing a second song. (“Still Into You” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

_Mmm_

_Can't count the years on one hand we've been together_

_I need the other one to hold you_

_Make you feel, make you feel better_

_It's not a walk in the park to love each other_

_But when our fingers interlock,_

_Can't deny, can't deny,_

_You're worth it_

_'Cause after all this time_

_I'm still into you_

_I should be over all the butterflies I'm into you,_

_And baby even on our worst nights I'm into you_

_Let 'em wonder how we got this far,_

_I don't even need to wonder at all_

_Yeah, after all this time I'm still into you_

Sanji sang with a bright smile and a twinkle in her dazzling blue eye. Zoro unconsciously curled the corner of his mouth up into a smile of his own as he watched.

_Recount the night that I first met your mother_

_And on the drive back to your house_

_Told me that, told you that I loved ya_

_You felt the weight of the world fall off your shoulders_

_And to your favorite song we sang along, To the start of forever_

_‘Cause after all this time I'm still into you_

_Oh, I should be over all the butterflies I'm into you,_

_And baby even on our worst nights I'm into you_

_Let 'em wonder how we got this far,_

_I don't even need to wonder at all_

_Yeah, after all this time I'm still into you_

Sanji swayed her body side to side to the music. If Zoro was certain about one thing, it was that these songs were sappy and romantic, and he should not like it as much as he did.

_Some things just, some things just make sense_

_And one of those is you and I_

_Some things just, some things just make sense_

_And even after all this time_

_Oh, I'm into you_

_Baby not a day goes by that I'm not into you!_

_I should be over all the butterflies I'm into you,_

_And baby even on our worst nights I'm into you_

_Let 'em wonder how we got this far,_

_I don't even need to wonder at all_

_After all this time_

_After all this time_

_After all this time I'm still into you_

Yeah, Zoro found himself enjoying the jazzy twist to the songs, it worked well with the whole atmosphere of the place—classy and romantic as hell. It didn’t surprise him, well _that_ didn’t surprise him. What Zoro was surprised by was how much he enjoyed listening to Sanji as she sang them. (“Sunday Morning” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

 _Sunday morning rain is falling_  
Steal some covers, share some skin  
Clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable  
You twist to fit the mold that I am in  
  


_But things just get so crazy, living life gets hard to do_  
I would gladly hit the road, get up, and go if I knew  
That someday it would lead me back to you  
That someday it would lead me back to you  
  
That may be all I need  
In darkness, she is all I see  
Come and rest your bones with me  
Driving home on Sunday morning  
I never wanna leave  
  
Fingers trace your every outline, yeah  
Paint a picture with my hands  
Back and forth we sway like branches in a storm  
Change the weather, still together in the end  
  
That may be all I need  
In darkness, she is all I see  
Come and rest your bones with me  
Driving home on Sunday morning  
I never wanna leave  
  
Her voice sent shivers down his spine. Zoro couldn’t look away or stop watching her as she swayed her hips to the beat of the music, and for the first time he looked at her body.

She wore a strapless black dress that was practically glued to her body, it was so tight. Her shoulders and back were exposed, her waist was narrow and her hips wide, then Zoro gulped as he noticed she had the most gorgeous legs he had ever seen.

_Holy fuck…_

Zoro didn’t even _like_ legs—at least not in _that_ way—but here he was, suddenly eyeing this blonde woman’s legs, fuck—her whole body—wishing she wasn’t so far away from him…

 _But things just get so crazy, living life gets hard to do_  
I would gladly hit the road, get up and go if I knew  
That someday it would lead me back to you  
That someday it would lead me back to you  
  
That may be all I need  
In darkness, she is all I see  
Come and rest your bones with me  
Driving home on Sunday morning  
I never wanna  
Driving home on Sunday morning  
I never wanna  
Driving home on Sunday morning  
I never wanna leave

When the song was over, he took a drink to try and distract himself. He was thinking things that he should not be. Zoro couldn’t help the wide look in his eye as she began to sing the next song and he felt as if she was pulling him in. (“Take Me To Church” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

 _My lover's got humor_  
She's the giggle at a funeral  
Knows everybody's disapproval  
I should've worshipped her sooner  
If the Heavens ever did speak  
He’s the last true mouthpiece  
Every Sunday's getting more bleak  
A new poison every week  
'We were born sick,' I heard them say  
My church offers no absolutes  
He says me 'worship in the bedroom'  
The only heaven I'll be sent to  
Is when I'm alone with you  
I was born sick, but I love it  
Command me to be well  
Ayyy Amen. Amen. Amen  
  


She closed her blue eye and sang like she meant every word.

 __  
Take me to church  
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies  
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife  
Offer me that deathless death  
Good God, let me give you my life  
Take me to church  
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies  
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife  
Offer me that deathless death  
Good God, let me give you my life  
  
If I'm a pagan of the good times  
My lover's the sunlight  
To keep the God on my side  
He demands a sacrifice  
To drain a whole sea  
Get something shiny  
Something meaty for the main course  
There’s a fine looking high horse  
What you got in those stable?  
We've gotta starving faithful  
That looks tasty  
That looks plenty  
This is hungry work  
  
Take me to church  
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies  
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife  
Offer me that deathless death  
Good God, let me give you my life  
Take me to church  
Ohh, at the shrine of your lies  
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife  
Offer me that deathless death  
Good God, let me give you my life  
  


Her voice was so powerful, so full of emotion, Zoro could feel it in his whole body, flowing through him. The instruments were nice, sure, but he could listen to _her_ sing _all day_.

 __  
No masters or kings when the ritual begins  
There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin  
In the madness and soil of that sad earthly scene  
Only then am I human  
Only then am I clean

There was a dramatic pause for a moment, broken by Sanji continuing to sing with more gusto.

 __  
Take me to church  
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies  
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife  
Offer me that deathless death  
Good God, let me give you my life  
Take me to church  
At the shrine of your lies  
Boy you can sharpen your knife  
Offer me that deathless death  
Good God, let me give you my life  
  
Amen. Amen. Amen  
Amen. Amen. Amen

_Amen. Amen._

After the song ended, Zoro took another big gulp of his drink, he _really_ needed to calm down. Her voice was so powerful, he felt it through his entire body. Not just that, but she was… _attractive?_ The music changed to a much more upbeat song and as he listened to her sing it started to ease the tension he was feeling. (“Just What I Needed” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

_I don't mind you comin' here_

_And wastin' all my time_

_'Cause when you're standin' oh so near_

_I kinda lose my mind_

_It's not the perfume that you wear_

_It's not the ribbons in your hair_

_I don't mind you comin' here_

_And wastin' all my time_

A few backup singers joined in ‘ _Ooo_ ’s and Zoro couldn’t stop the smile on his lips as Sanji danced to the song with a bright smile.

 

_I don't mind you hangin' out_

_And talkin' in your sleep (sweet dreams baby)_

_It doesn't matter where you've been_

_As long as it was deep, yeah_

_You always knew to wear it well and_

_You look so fancy I can tell_

_I don't mind you hangin' out_

_And talkin' in your sleep_

_I guess you're just what I needed_

_(just what I needed)_

_I needed someone to feed_

_I guess you're just what I needed_

_(just what I needed)_

_I needed someone to bleed_

A guy who was ridiculously tall and skinny with a large afro sang a few lines, but Zoro continued smiling as he kept his eye on Sanji.

 

_I don't mind you comin' here_

_And wastin' all my time time_

_When you're standin' oh so near_

_I kinda lose my mind, yeah_

_It's not the perfume that you wear_

_It's not the ribbons in your hair_

_I don't mind you comin' here_

_And wastin' all my time_

_I guess you're just what I needed_

_(just what I needed)_

_I needed someone to feed_

_I guess you're just what I needed_

_(just what I needed)_

_I needed someone to bleed, Hey!_

_You're just what I needed_

_You're just what I needed_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're just what I needed_

_It’s not the perfume, It’s not the ribbons_

_It’s not the perfume, Not the ribbons_

_It’s not the perfume, It’s not the ribbons_

_It’s not the perfume,_

_Ohh, Ohh, yeah_

_You’re just what I needed_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah_

_You’re just what I needed_

_Yeah, yeah yeah, Ohh_

_You’re just what I needed_

After finishing the song, she grinned and curtsied at the applauding audience. Just like that her performance was over, and she began to walk off the stage, much to Zoro’s disappointment. It was only a few songs, but he had really enjoyed listening to and watching her sing.

He also was enjoying watching her pale legs as she walked around in a pair of thin, strappy high-heels. But when she suddenly stopped walking and turned in his direction, Zoro averted his eye quickly and began to silently panic.

_Shit… Did she notice me staring at her?_

As Zoro was trying to act casual, Nami jumped up beside him, “Sanji~! That was _amazing_! _You_ are amazing! Thank you, _so much_!” She wrapped her arms around the other woman for a tight embrace.

Stealing a glance, Zoro noticed Nami’s actions must have made Sanji happy, because she began to smile. And damn—Zoro had never seen such a pretty smile.

Returning the hug with enthusiasm, Sanji assured, “Oh, my dearest Nami, it was my _pleasure!_ You know I’d do _anything_ for you two!”

Nami pulled away from Sanji and gave her a grateful look, “You have already done _so much!_ I wish there was a way for me to repay you with something other than money.”

Sanji smiled but shook her head, “Really, there is no need. You and Vivi are two of my _dearest_ friends, you’re already paying me too much. I would _refuse_ payment, but that’s not good for business.”

“Aww~” Vivi gave Sanji a hug, “That’s really _so_ sweet of you, Sanji. I don’t know _what_ Nami and I would do without you. But~”

“But~ nothing!” Sanji gave the two women a pleading look, her blue eye was shining under the dim lighting. Then she glanced at the table and their eyes met.

Zoro immediately turned away and took a drink from his glass as Nami began, “Sanji, you’ve met some of my friends from my hometown before, right?”

With a nod, she said, “I’ve met Robin, of course~,” she waved to her, “Hello, Robin dear!” Sanji grinned then pointed to Luffy, “And you, Luffy.” A dazzling smile came across her face and Zoro wished it was directed at him. “How’s my _favorite customer_ doing~?”

Luffy grinned enthusiastically, “Great!”

Nami rolled her eyes, “Okay, well everyone, this is Sanji.” With a very serious expression on her face and assuring tone of voice, Nami continued, “She is _amazing_ , like—a true goddess. She is pretty much the brains of this entire night. She did _all_ the planning, the decorations, the food—and _sang_ of course! This party wouldn’t be anything if it wasn’t for Sanji and her _absolute passion_ to entertain—Vivi and I are just the ones who pay the bill.”

Sanji didn’t appear to be amused by the obvious praise she received from Nami and rolled her eye, “Oh hush, just tell me who is who, so I have a face to put to all the stories you’ve told me.”

Hearing that gave Zoro a bad feeling, he wondered exactly what kind of ‘stories’ Nami had told her, mostly the ones concerning himself.

Nami giggled, “Okay, okay, relax!” She gestured to the raven-haired woman beside him at the round table and introduced them clockwise, “This is Robin and her boyfriend Franky. Then there’s Usopp and his wife Kaya. Sabo and his girlfriend, Koala. Ace and his husband, Marco. Luffy and his boyfriend, Kid.” Nami then grabbed Zoro’s shoulder, while rocking his torso playfully she turned to Sanji, “And this is Zoro—he’s perpetually single.”

_Goddamnit Nami!_

He couldn’t help the scowl on his face when his eye met Sanji’s blue one. She studied him for a moment, then her expression changed to one of recognition, “ _You’re_ the one who always gets lost!”

Everyone at the table burst into laughter.

That irked him, Zoro narrowed his eye at Sanji, “What was that, curly brow?”

Sanji’s features hardened, “Did you get lost on the way here too, marimo?”

_Marimo?! What the hell?! I thought she was nice! She was nice to Nami and Vivi, and Robin, and Luffy, too..._

He didn’t answer her, but Sabo did, “He called me asking for directions.”

Zoro glared at Sabo across the table, but the blond man continued laughing as if Zoro wasn’t ready to kill him for bringing _that_ up.

“Hey! I gave you _very_ specific directions on how to get here,” Nami glared at him.

Luffy suddenly shouted, “Oi, Sanji! Did you really cook all this yummy food?!” For once, Zoro was happy Luffy was so obsessed with food.

The compliment seemed to be appreciated, because Sanji began to smile sweetly at Luffy, “Well~ my workers did! My restaurant catered, so all the recipes are my own.”

Everyone at the table started praising Sanji on the decorations, the food, the music, essentially showering her with compliments. Zoro stayed quiet the entire time, he tried to keep his eyes anywhere that was not the blonde woman and her curly eyebrow or her bare legs standing oh so close to him.

“I love the flowers, roses are so~ romantic,” Kaya cooed, and Koala agreed by nodding her head enthusiastically.

“Shishishi, they look like Kid’s hair,” Luffy grinned.

Kid rolled his eyes, “Good thing there’s plenty of food here. Keeps someone distracted.”

“Yeah! Lu, we should get some more food later!” Ace excitedly reminded his youngest brother.

Luffy’s face lit up and he double fisted the air above him, “Yosh!”

Marco sighed, “Make that two someone’s, yoi.” He held up two fingers, one for Ace, the other for Luffy, counting the two idiots who will _always_ become distracted by food.

After her signature giggle, Robin asked, “Do you still work at the _Baratie_ , Sanji? Is that who catered?”

Nami answered for her, “Sanji owns her own restaurant now, they’re who catered.”

Marco asked her, becoming interested, “How old are you? If you don’t mind my asking. You just seem so young to have your own restaurant, yoi.”

She smiled sweetly at him for the compliment, “I’m twenty-six.”

Zoro took a drink from his glass, _hmmm, she is a year younger than me…_

“WOW!” Franky shouted, “That is SUPER impressive!”

Sanji swooned at the compliment, “Thank you, I actually opened it a couple years ago, though.”

“What’s the name of your restaurant?” Sabo asked her looking interested.

“It’s the _All Blue_ , in Raftel,” she said proudly.

“Oi! Zoro lives in Raftel!” Usopp shouted.

They all turned to him, Zoro glared, “What’re you all looking at?”

“Oh yeah~!” There was a ‘forgetful’ tone in Nami’s voice as she asked with a sly smile, “Zoro, have you ever been to Sanji’s restaurant?”

Zoro scowled at her, “No, I haven’t.”

Then Nami did something and Zoro didn’t know whether he should thank her for getting him out of the uncomfortable situation of never having been to _her_ restaurant, or if he should curse Nami for putting him in an entirely _different_ uncomfortable situation. Still with that sly grin, Nami announced, “You know~, Zoro couldn’t stop staring at you while you were singing, Sanji. He didn’t even realize we filled his drink with water.”

_Filled my drink with water…?_

When Zoro brought his drink to his lips and took another sip he realized it was indeed, water. “Shit…,” he cursed under his breath.

Sanji laughed at him, but it still meant she was smiling at him. He needed to man up and face this woman, for no other reason than to see her smile directed at him. Zoro shifted his body on the chair and as soon as he got a look at her, his heart beat a little faster in his chest.

She _had_ been smiling at him, _laughing,_ and he really had never felt like this before—breathless.

After composing herself, Sanji teased, “Is that so~?” She took a long, hard look at him from head to toe before shaking her head in what appeared to be disappointment, “So, you’re here without a date.”

He glared at her and waved his arm in front of himself. It obvious he didn’t have a date. Nami introduced him as single. He was here alone, he had always been alone.  

“Huh, I didn’t bring a date either.” She shrugged it off coolly, then gestured to his glass filled with water, “Would you like to get another drink with me?” Her blue eye was on his gray one, her curly eyebrow cocked slightly as she expectantly awaited an answer from him.

_Would I like to get a drink with this woman?!_

Zoro stood up from his chair a little too quickly, he ignored the snickers of laughter that came from Kid. Attempting to play off his excitement and eagerness he answered, “Sure,” and was pleased that his voice stayed steady and low.

Sanji smirked at him and linked her arm around his, placing her hand on his forearm. He felt himself start to blush from the gesture, so he turned away and began to lead them up to the bar. Along the way, Zoro noticed there were a lot of men staring lustfully at Sanji as they passed through the crowd. He didn’t like it.

The bartender took one look at Zoro and his furrowed brow, grabbed a bottle of sake and handed the whole thing over without a word.

The beautiful woman on his arm burst into laughter, “What the hell?! Is that _all_ for you?!”

“I dunno…” he paused and asked her, “You drink sake?”

She raised her curly eyebrow, “Not a whole _bottle._ ” Sanji then turned to the bartender, “Could I please have a glass of the Cabernet sauvignon?” They nodded and poured her a glass of red wine.

Now, Zoro doesn’t really know much about wine, so he had no idea what she just ordered tasted like or even how to pronounce it himself; but holy fuck did he like hearing her say it. As she cupped the glass with the stein between her fingers then brought it to her lips, Zoro realized she was actually wearing red lipstick. He hadn’t noticed it before, it looked so _natural_ , but it left a smudge on the glass.

_Fuck… Her lips are so…shit! Stop staring at her mouth!_

Zoro distracted himself by opening the bottle of sake in his hands and taking a long pull straight from the bottle. When it left his lips, Zoro opened his eye and found Sanji staring at him. He narrowed his eyes at her and grunted, “What?”

Her eye rolled as she took a small sip of her wine, “You don’t talk much.” The way she said it, Zoro knew it wasn’t a question, but a statement.

He grunted at her.

She glared at him, “Geez, what are you? A Neanderthal who walked into a tuxedo shop? Because that’s what you look like.”

He mumbled, “That’s what I feel like.”

Sanji turned to him with an amused look, “Oh my god, it _can_ talk!”

Zoro glared at her.

She cocked her curly eyebrow, with a smirk, she teasingly asked, “So~ what does this _caveman_ do when he isn’t playing dress-up?” The way she popped the ‘P’ sent a shiver down his spine.

He tried to play it off with a roll of his eye and answered, “I am a swordsman.”

“Ahhh,” Sanji nodded her head in understanding, “I remember Nami saying something about that.”

He looked at her nervously, “What did she say?”

Sanji narrowed her eye, “You run the dojo in Raftel.”

Zoro stayed quiet, if it was something Nami had told her, then she already knew. The only dojo in Raftel was Zoro’s very own, and it was located right next to _All Blue_.

After a moment of silence, Sanji asked, “Why have you never been to my restaurant?”

“To _All Blue_?” He shook his head and smirked, “It’s not really my style.”

She looked offended, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Watching her get agitated by him was entertaining, he liked seeing that cocky smirk of hers leave her face, “Do I really seem like the type of guy who’d go to such a snobby restaurant?”

Instead of her getting angry like he wanted, she smirked again, “Well, you don’t need to come eat the delicious food I cook at my _snobby_ restaurant. You can eat it right here,” she waved her hand in the direction of the room with all the food in it.

Zoro rolled his eye, “Didn’t look delicious to me.” Total lie.

This time his response seemed to irritate her, just like he wanted. Sanji furrowed her curly eyebrow and shouted at him, “Fucking _asshole!_ My cooking is incredible!”

Seeing her get angry made him smirk and he continued to tease her, “You’re a shit cook.”

Her blue eye was wide with rage, it was pretty hard to believe this was the same woman who was described as a ‘goddess’ by Nami. She was more like a demon as she quipped back, “What’d you call me, shitty swordsman?”

_Shitty swordsman?!_

Zoro scowled at her, Sanji was now _officially_ irritating the hell out of him. He wasn’t a shitty swordsman, he is the best swordsman in the world! He took a swig of his sake, trying to distract himself from the feel of her eye on him.

Sanji began to laugh, “Oh, you are _way_ too much fun,” she said it with an odd tone in her voice.

He shook his head, “I can’t tell if you are being sarcastic or being a bitch.”

Instead of getting offended, like he was, Sanji smirked at him, “Who knows, maybe both, maybe neither.” She was batting her eyelashes at him as she took another sip of her wine.

Zoro stared at her mouth as her tongue swiped across her red lips. He gulped and felt his face become hot, along with the rest of his body. He distracted himself from Sanji’s mouth by removing the jacket of his tuxedo, then rolled up the sleeves of his white button-up.

“So, marimo~,” she started with a teasing tone, “Why’s a guy like you single?”

_Where the hell did that come from?_

He scowled, “What the hell are you talking about?”

Sanji glared at him, unamused, “I’m asking you why you’re single, dumbass,” she rolled her eye and looked annoyed.

He scowled at her for calling him a ‘dumbass.’ Zoro knew that’s what she was asking, he just didn’t understand why. Regardless, he answered, “I’ve never been interested in a relationship like that.”

“Oh~?” Sanji had an irritating grin on her face, the look she was giving him made him blush, but still he didn’t look away when she asked, “What about me?”

Zoro glared at her, “What about you?”

She gazed into his eye with a challenging look, then shrugged.

_Fuck this woman is irritating. What does she want me to say? She is so fucking frustrating!_

While gritting his teeth, he grumbled, “Why don’t you just leave me alone?”

Her blue eye widened and she accusingly asked, “If my company is so unpleasant, why haven’t you left and gone back to your friends yet?” Sanji gazed at him with a reserved smile and raised her curly eyebrow, taking another sip of her wine.

Turning away, but staying put beside her, Zoro took a long pull from the bottle of sake in his hand.

Sanji began to giggle and the sound of it brought a strange feeling to his stomach.

_What the hell? This isn’t normal. Is the booze making me sick? But I’m not even drunk. And I don’t feel sick… I feel… I don’t know. What is this feeling? I’ve never felt like this before… Shit._

As Sanji was still laughing at him, Zoro grumbled, “What’s so funny?”

She smiled at him, like _really_ smiled and the feeling in his stomach increased tenfold. “ _You_ are, marimo,” he felt his face getting hot. Sanji shook her head, grinning, “You’re _lots_ of things.”

That made him nervous. Zoro gulped, “What kinds of things?”

“Well~” Sanji smirked at him with a glint in her blue eye, “For one, you are stubborn.” He grunted at that and she paused, with a thoughtful smile playing on her lips, “Also, you seem to be an alcoholic—no offence.” Zoro just scoffed at her, but he continued staring at her mouth; she was smiling, “You’re cute.”

He blinked, “Wait, what?” Her lips had been distracting him, he must have heard her wrong.

Sanji laughed again, “Yeah, cute—like a marimo.”

“Ehhh? You think marimos are cute?” He stared at her, confused.

She smiled at him, this one was shy, he hadn’t seen her smile like that before now, “Well yeah, that’s why I call you that.”

His stomach was definitely _not okay,_ neither were his heart, lungs, or brain.

Zoro was still feeling a weird twisting, tumbling, feeling in his belly every time Sanji smiled at him. As soon as she became shy his heart began to pound in his chest as if he had just finished an intense workout. His breath was taken away knowing that every time she called him ‘marimo’ she had been calling him cute in her own weird way. And the only thing on his mind was: _Sanji thinks I’m cute._

As he was absentmindedly staring at her mouth, Zoro licked his lips, then looked back up at her eye. He remembered the name he had called her, “Your eyebrow. I like it—It’s pretty.”

Zoro was surprised when he saw Sanji start to blush. She shook her head, embarrassed, “I _hate_ them.”

He furrowed his own eyebrows, he couldn’t understand and asked, “ _Why?_ ”

She sighed, exasperatedly, “Because~ they curl the same goddamn direction—making my face asymmetrical! That’s why I keep one eye covered, so people can’t see how weird they are.” She pouted her lips, he had never seen something so adorable.

Zoro smiled at her fondly, “It just makes you unique—just like how I have green hair.”

Sanji stared at him, wide eyed, “The fact you have green hair _definitely_ makes you weird—like seriously, _why?_ ”

“What? It’s my natural hair color! I can’t help it!” Zoro scowled at her.

“Are you _fucking_ serious?! Your hair is _naturally_ _green?_ ” Sanji deadpanned.

Zoro rolled his eye, “Yes, it is.”

After staring at him with unreadable look in her eye, she began to giggle again, and his stomach flip-flopped, “Aww~ that is so~ cute!”

He pouted and grumbled, “Quit calling me cute.”

“Okay, fine…marimo~” Sanji teased with that same smirk on her red lips.

Scowling, Zoro took another drink of sake with a blush on his cheeks. He was becoming more and more irritated with this woman. Just when he thought he had things under control, she would take him by surprise. Sanji was unpredictable, she didn’t hold back and took things head on. And _fuck_ this woman must have drank poison and survived, because she had the dirtiest fucking mouth Zoro had ever seen or heard. She might look like a lady, but she sure as hell doesn’t talk like one, at least to him. She was headstrong, fierce, didn’t take any bullshit, and Zoro was intrigued by her—despite his irritation.

There was one thing in particular that Zoro was fascinated by, “How’d you learn to sing like that, curly brow?”

Sanji didn’t appear to be as bothered by the nickname as she had been before. She actually blushed, much to Zoro’s surprise—although he didn’t know if that had to do with the nickname or the question. She smiled fondly, as if recalling a memory, “I’ve always loved to sing, since I was little. I like to sing while I cook, on the way to work in my car, in the shower…”

_Hmmm, Sanji singing naked in the shower… Fuck! Get a grip._

Bringing the wineglass to her lips, Sanji finished the last of her wine, “I’ve never taken lessons or anything if that’s what you’re wondering.”

He was staring at her lips as she spoke, when Zoro looked up, he made eye contact with Sanji and his heart began to pound in his chest. He nodded his head, “It was.”

A smirk appeared on her red lips, “Were you really enjoying it so much that you mistook water for sake?”

“Tch,” he tried to think of something clever to say, but instead sighed and sheepishly scratched the back of his head, “Yeah, I guess I was.” Her red lips were the only thing on Zoro’s mind, he turned away to distract himself.

“Well~, sometimes I sing at _All Blue_. You could always listen to me there, marimo.” When he turned to Sanji, she was smiling, and it made Zoro’s stomach feel light and fluttery. Then she held her hand up, seeming to remember something, “Unless you can’t find the place.”

He felt his jaw drop, Sanji grinned.

_It’s right next to my fucking dojo! Of course, I can find the place!_

Sanji laughed, “The dress code is much more casual than this party. Standard: no shirt, no shoes, no service. Not _too_ snobby for a caveman.” She smirked at him, then left him alone.

He turned around and watched as she walked into the next room.

_What the fuck? This woman is so… so fucking infuriating! She doesn’t make any sense! The way she’s making me feel doesn’t make any sense! God, those legs are really something though… Ugh! Why do I like her legs so much?! What is wrong with me?!_

With his partially finished bottle of sake and his tuxedo jacket, Zoro returned to the table his friends had been sitting at and found there was just Kid and Marco. He grumbled, “Where’s everyone else?”

Marco answered, “Dancing, yoi. Ace and Luffy are eating again.”

Once he sat down with a thump and took another drink of sake, Kid wondered aloud, “Geez, was the blonde chick _that_ bad?”

Zoro glared at the redhead, challenging him to continue.

Since this was Kid, he continued without hesitation, “I mean, I know you drink a lot, man—but you’ve got yourself a _bottle_ of sake!” He began to laugh out, “And its _half gone!_ ” He was clapping his hands on the table top in his laughter.

“She wasn’t _that_ bad…” Zoro grumbled out.

Marco smiled slyly, “She’s pretty, yoi.”

The comment made Zoro scoff, “That’s an understatement.”

Kid raised his nearly non-existent eyebrow and looked between Marco’s knowing smirk and Zoro’s frustrated scowl, “Zoro… Are you _into_ that chick?”

“NO—I mean… I don’t know,” Zoro was beyond frustrated, he honestly didn’t know what it was he was feeling about Sanji.

_Maybe they will be able to help…?_

With a sigh, Zoro confessed, “Well… As soon as I heard her singing, I was absolutely blown away.” He paused and thought for a moment, “I’ve never felt so…moved, like that before. And she’s…fucking _gorgeous_ …” He shook his head and became irritated, “But, she’s so _frustrating!_ It was like half the time we were talking—we were fighting, _or_ she was teasing me—and the other half of the time I felt like I was _sick_ or, or _something!_ She kept calling me ‘ _marimo_ ’ and then she told me she thinks that marimo’s are _cute_ , and _that’s_ why she was calling me that!”

Marco and Kid both burst out laughing.

Zoro groaned, “Oi! This isn’t funny! The woman is absolutely _infuriating!_ ”

The two men were still laughing at his expense, then Kid blurted out, “Zoro—It’s obvious you two like each other!”

“What?!” Zoro needed to get a more specific answer, “You mean like you two like each other?” Pointing between Marco and Kid.

Marco frowned at him, Kid looked disgusted, then Marco reiterated, “No, he means like how I like Ace, yoi.”

Zoro’s eye practically bulged out of his head, “You’ve got to be _kidding_ , I don’t even _know_ her! How could I like her _that_ way?”

Kid rolled his eyes, “Are you seriously _that_ stupid? You don’t have to know someone to want to fuck them.”

The moment Kid said that, Zoro snapped, “It’s not like that! I don’t want to just fuck her!”

For once, Kid shut his stupid mouth. Marco raised an eyebrow, “What _do_ you want then, yoi?”

Sighing, Zoro ran his hand through his hair, “ _Honestly_ —I have no _fucking_ clue. I’ve never felt like this before in my life. I don’t know why I like her smile so much, or the sound of her laugh… Ughh! She is just so _fucking_ irritating!” Zoro was clenching his fists, his knuckles turning white.

“Hey, Zoro…calm down.” Marco narrowed his gaze at him and spoke sternly, “I think you just need to think about this for a bit, yoi. She lives in Raftel, doesn’t she? You know about her restaurant—if you want to see her again, just go there and visit.”

Kid scowled, “Fuck that! It’s obvious Zoro’s finally—OW!”

Marco had kicked Kid under the table and glared at him, “Zoro needs to think it over,” he then turned back to Zoro, “You might not even care tomorrow, yoi.”

Zoro rolled his eye with a slight smirk, he hoped he came off as indifferent to the two men, but truthfully, Zoro knew that the possibility of him waking up tomorrow and _not_ caring about meeting Sanji, was not only unlikely, but impossible.


	2. All Blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.

After Nami and Vivi’s engagement party in Alabasta, Zoro had spent the next few days getting back to Raftel. Mostly, he was just lost, but he preferred to think of it more as ‘seeing the sights.’ It wasn’t like he was in that much of a hurry to get back home anyway.  He didn’t have any scheduled lessons until Tuesday.

He found himself lost in thought many times along the way. Zoro was convinced this was the reason why he was going the wrong way all the time.

_I wonder if Sanji is back in Raftel yet… I doubt she would take more than a day off from work, she probably flew out to Alabasta. She owns the most popular restaurant in Raftel, she’s probably got the money, and if she didn’t I’m sure Nami and Vivi would’ve payed for her to fly. Whatever, it’s not like it matters anyway… But there is something a little unsettling about not knowing… Huh, that’s weird. Why do I care so much anyway? Marco did suggest giving it some thought… Kid thinks I like her, but I barely know her. And I don’t want to just have sex with her—I’ve never even had sex! What the hell did Sabo say about Koala? That he fell in love as soon as he saw her? Wait—why did that just come to my mind?_

Zoro was still trying to think and figure out how he felt about Sanji when he arrived back at his dojo. He parked in his garage and killed the engine, then sighed with content. However, he didn’t feel content. In fact, Zoro felt a slight ache in his chest, a heaviness that was unsettling.

He decided to ignore it, assuming it would go away eventually, maybe once he was settled back home. Zoro brought his bags upstairs to his living area and into the bedroom to put away his things. It didn’t take long and afterwards Zoro took a shower, happy to feel fresh after driving around for such a long time. He dressed himself in dark jeans and a black shirt; when Zoro looked at the clock he saw it was dinner time.

_I could go visit Sanji…_

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Zoro grabbed his wallet and bolted back downstairs to walk next door.

_All Blue_ had opened a year after Zoro built his dojo. He never visited the place before, mostly because extravagance wasn’t really his thing and this restaurant quickly became the most popular place in town for this very reason. Upon walking into the restaurant, Zoro’s mouth fell open.

The place was fancy. Dim lighting, a soft lull of instruments in the background, fresh flowers at every table. The room was filled with deep reds and blues, dark wood and white fabric napkins. He felt like he had at the party, out of place. But this time he really felt underdressed.

As Zoro found himself being escorted to a table by the hostess, he was asked if he wanted anything to drink and he ordered a bottle of sake. Looking around, he noticed there was a stage with musicians, they appeared to be waiting for something, or someone. He was seated at a small table to the side of the room, but he had a view of the stage.

_Is Sanji going to be singing?_

Suddenly, a beat began to play and a few moments later Sanji sauntered out and made her way up to the stage, wandering through the tables along the way. When she started to sing her voice was powerful, full of passion, and had the same effect on Zoro as before. (“Bye Bye Bye” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

 

_I'm doing this tonight  
You're probably gonna start a fight  
I know this can't be right, hey baby come on  
I loved you endlessly  
When you weren't there for me  
So now it's time to leave and make it alone  
  
I know that I can't take no more, it ain't no lie  
I wanna see you out that door  
Baby bye, bye, bye  
  
Don't want to be a fool for you  
Just another player in your game for two  
You may hate me but it ain't no lie  
Baby, bye, bye, bye  
  
Don't really want to make it tough  
I just wanna tell you that I’ve had enough  
It might sound crazy but it ain't no lie  
Baby, bye, bye, bye  
  
_It didn’t take a rocket scientist to tell that this was a sad song, but Zoro couldn’t understand why Sanji was singing something like this.

_  
Just hit me with the truth  
Now, boy you're more than welcome to  
So give me one good reason baby come on  
I live for you and me  
But now I really come to see  
That life would be much better once you're gone  
  
I know that I can't take no more, it ain't no lie  
I wanna see you out that door  
Baby bye, bye, bye  
  
Don’t wanna be a fool for you  
Just another player in your game for two  
You may hate me but it ain't no lie  
Baby, bye, bye, bye  
  
Don't really want to make it tough  
I just wanna tell you that I’ve had enough  
It might sound crazy but it ain't no lie  
Baby, bye, bye, bye  
  
_She moved along to the beat of the song, the dark blue dress she wore hugged her curves, she was even more stunning than Zoro remembered her to be.

_  
I'm giving up I know for sure  
I don't wanna be the reason for your love no more  
I'm checkin' out, I'm signin' off  
I don't want to be the loser and I've had enough  
  
I don't wanna be your fool  
In this game for two  
So I'm leaving you behind  
I don't wanna make it tough  
But I've had enough  
Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye  
  
_

_Don't want to be a fool for you  
Just another player in your game for two  
You may hate me, but it ain't no lie  
Baby, bye, bye, bye  
  
Don't really want to make it tough  
I just wanna tell you that I’ve had enough  
It might sound crazy but it ain't no lie  
Baby, Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, byeWoah_

_You may hate me but it ain’t no lie_

_Baby, bye, bye, bye_

_Oh bye, bye, bye, bye_

_Bye, bye, bye_

_Yeah, ain’t no lie_

_Baby, bye, bye, bye_

The crowd applauded at the end of the song, but Zoro couldn’t. The song was sad, it made him feel like she was hurting. It made Zoro feel like _he_ was hurting. Although he really didn’t know her that well, he felt like something was wrong. But, he decided to just sit and listen as she started singing another song. (“Love Yourself” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

_For all the times that you rained on my parade  
And all the clubs you get in using my name  
Oh you think you broke my heart, oh boy for goodness sake  
You think I'm crying on my own, well I ain't  
  
And I didn't wanna write a song  
Cause I didn't want anyone thinking I still care  
I don't but, you still hit my phone up  
And baby I'll be movin' on  
And I think you should be somethin'  
That I don't wanna hold back  
Maybe you should know that  
My mama don't like you and she likes everyone  
And I never like to admit that I was wrong  
But I've been so caught up in my job, I didn't see what's going on  
But now I know, I'm better sleeping on my own  
  
Cause if you like the way you look that much  
Oh baby you should go and love yourself  
And if you think that I'm still holdin' on to somethin'  
You should go and love yourself  
  
When you told me you hated my friends  
The only problem was with you and not with them  
And when you told me that my opinion was wrong  
And you tried to make me forget where I came from  
  
And I didn't wanna write a song  
Cause I didn't want anyone thinking I still care  
I don't but, you still hit my phone up  
And baby I'll be movin' on  
And I think you should be somethin'  
That I don't wanna hold back  
Maybe you should know that  
My mama don't like you and she likes everyone  
And I never like to admit that I was wrong  
But I've been so caught up in my job, didn't see what's going on  
But now I know, I'm better sleeping on my own  
  
Cause if you like the way you look that much  
Oh baby you should go and love yourself  
And if you think that I'm still holdin' on to somethin'  
You should go and love yourself, Hey_

As Sanji danced around the stage, Zoro’s heart was pounding in his chest. When she continued to sing, he listened intently to every word, wondering what could’ve made her sing something like this. _  
  
For all the times you made me feel small  
I felt in love, now I feel nothin' at all  
And I never felt so low when I was vulnerable  
Was I a fool to let you break down my walls?  
  
Cause if you like the way you look that much  
Oh baby you should go and love yourself  
And if you think that I'm still holdin' on to somethin'  
You should go and love yourself  
If you like the way you look that much  
Oh baby you should go and love yourself  
And if you think that I'm still holdin' on to somethin'  
You should go and love yourself _

_Oh baby you should go and love yourself  
Oh baby you should go and love yourself, oh  
  
_

Someone had brought his sake to the table along with a glass, but Zoro didn’t bother with it and took a swig straight from the bottle. Another song began, and Zoro smirked slightly when Sanji started to sing. (“You Give Love A Bad Name” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

_  
An angel's smile is what you sell  
You promise me heaven then put me through hell  
Chains of love got a hold on me  
When passion's a prison you can't break free  
Oh! You're a loaded gun, yeah  
Oh! There's nowhere to run  
No one can save me  
The damage is done  
  
_

_Shot through the heart and you're to blame  
You give love a bad name  
I play my part and you play your game  
You give love a bad name_

Zoro couldn’t stop staring at the blonde woman, she was so passionate while she sang such depressing songs. It was even more intense than watching her a few days earlier at that party. As much as he was entranced by her voice, he couldn’t help scowling as he listened to her sing. _  
  
Paint your smile on your lips  
With blood red nails on your fingertips  
A school boy's dream, you act so shy  
Your first kiss oh it was your first goodbye  
Oh! You're a loaded gun, yeah  
Oh! There's nowhere to run  
No one can save me  
The damage is done  
  
_

_Shot through the heart and you're to blame  
You give love a bad name  
I play my part and you play your game  
You give love a bad name  
You give love  
  
_

Sanji swayed her hips side to side in a very enticing way, Zoro was getting flustered and felt slightly uncomfortable.

_Shot through the heart and you're to blame  
You give love a bad name  
I play my part and you play your game  
You give love a bad name  
I’m shot through the heart and you're to blame  
You give love a bad name  
I play my part, you play your game  
You give love a bad name  
You give love  
You give love  
Such a bad name_

 

Zoro was enjoying listening to Sanji sing, but these songs were so different from the ones she sang the other night. Before she was singing love songs, and these were all basically the opposite. He preferred the love songs, and that was very unlike him. Still, he gave Sanji his undivided attention as she continued to sing. (“Same Old Love” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

_Take away your things and go  
You can't take back what you said, I know  
I've heard it all before, at least a million times  
And I'm not one to forget, you know  
  
Mmmm  
I can't believe, I can't believe it  
You left in peace, you left me in pieces  
Too hard to breathe, and I'm on my knees  
Right now, Ohhhh  
  
I'm so sick of that same old love, that, it tears me up  
I'm so sick of that same old love, and my body's had enough  
Oh-oh-oh, that same old love  
Oh-oh-oh, that same old love  
  
_

He was feeling _very_ frustrated as he listened to her sing, but as the music took over _Zoro_ couldn’t look away. Sanji was swaying her hips to the music in a way that distracted him until the beat picked up again and she continued to sing.

_  
I'm not spending any time, wasting tonight on you  
You know, Mmm  
So don't you try and change your mind  
'Cause I won't be changing too, you know  
  
Mmmm  
And you can't believe, you can't believe it  
You left in peace, you left me in pieces  
Too hard to breathe, and I'm on my knees  
Right now, Oh  
  
I'm so sick of that same old love, that, it tears me up  
I'm so sick of that same old love, my body's had enough  
Oh-oh-oh, that same old love  
Oh-oh-oh, that same old love  
  
Mmmm, Yeah  
I'm so sick of that_

_So sick of that same old love  
I'm so sick of that, Hey  
  
I'm so sick of that same old love, that, it tears me up  
I'm so sick of that same old love, my body's had enough  
Oh-oh-oh, that same old love  
Oh-oh-oh, that same old love  
Love, love, that same old love_

_Love, that same old love_

Zoro hadn’t ordered anything besides the sake he was nearly finished with, none of the waiters bothered him, either. They seemed to realize he was too engrossed with the music to care that he was at a restaurant. The next song began and Zoro watched as Sanji’s smile brightened while she danced up on stage and began to sing. (“Grenade” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

_Easy come, easy go  
That's just how you live  
Oh take, take, take it all but you’ll never give  
Should've known you were trouble from the first kiss  
Had your eyes wide open  
Why were they open?  
  
Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash  
Tossed it in the trash, you did  
To give me all your love is all I ever ask  
'Cause what you don't understand is  
  
I'd catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah)  
Throw my head on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah)  
I'd jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah)  
You know, I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah)  
Oh-oh-oh  
I would go through all of this pain  
Take a bullet straight through my brain  
Yes, I would die for you, baby  
But you won't do the same  
  
_Zoro was fuming, he was beginning to think that the songs Sanji had sang were relevant to her and that was why every word held so much emotion and passion behind it.

_  
Black, black, black and blue  
Beat me till I'm numb  
Tell the devil I said ‘hey’ when you get back to where you're from  
Mad woman, bad woman that's just what you are  
Yeah, you’ll smile in my face then rip the breaks out my car  
  
Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash  
Tossed it in the trash, yes, you did  
To give me all your love is all I ever asked  
'Cause what you don't understand is  
  
I'd catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah)  
Throw my head on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah)  
I'd jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah)  
You know, I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah)  
Oh-oh-oh  
I would go through all of this pain  
Take a bullet straight through my brain  
Yes, I would die for you, baby  
But you won't do the same  
  
_Sanji strut around the stage, shaking her hips to the music during the entire song, the dark blue dress she wore showed off her curves and legs. Zoro noticed a lot of the men in the restaurant were watching her like pigs. It disgusted him, but he’d be lying if he said watching her didn’t make him think crazy things, too.

_  
If my body was on fire  
Ooh, you'd watch me burn down in flames  
You said you love me, you're a liar  
'Cause you never, ever, ever did, baby  
  
But, darling, I'd still catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah)  
I'd throw my head on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah)  
I'd jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah)  
You know, I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah)  
Oh-oh-oh  
I would go through all this pain  
Take a bullet straight through my brain  
Yes, I would die for you, baby  
But you won't do the same  
Die for you baby_

_But you won't do the same_

Zoro’s mind was racing.

 

_All the songs she’s sang are so sad. At the party, they were all love songs, so that must have been because of Nami and Vivi getting engaged. Well, what the hell? If she picked these songs, she might have gotten dumped… Or was she cheated on? No.Who the fuck would cheat on her?! She’s the whole package! Wait—what? Why did I just think that?_

She appeared to be done singing and cheerfully smiled to the customers in her restaurant. It was a bittersweet feeling for Zoro; on one hand he was sad that he wouldn’t be able to listen to her sing—but these songs were depressing. On the other hand, Zoro felt warm in his chest as he gazed at her smile, and as her eye wandered through the place, she eventually spotted him and immediately her smile grew larger.

Zoro’s heart was pounding in his chest as he watched Sanji say something to the musicians behind her, then wander through the tables until she sat across from him at his table.

With a sexy grin, _wait, sexy?_ Sanji teased, “I see you found the place, marimo.”

He scoffed, “What’re you talking about? It’s not hard to find.”

She raised that curly eyebrow of hers, “Yeah, okay.” Sanji waved her hand to a waiter who immediately came over, “Get this man a menu and a bottle of our finest sake, his meal is on the house.” The waiter nodded his head, and left them alone, then Sanji turned back to Zoro, “So, what took you so long to show up?”

It took him a moment to realize she asked him a question, he was too surprised she was giving him a free meal and alcohol. He cleared his throat, “I’ve been driving back from Alabasta.”

Sanji gave him a bewildered look, “You’ve been driving the _whole time_? It’s been _three days_! Alabasta isn’t _that_ far!”

Zoro shrugged, “I stopped to sleep here and there.”

“Well, did you _eat_ anything~?” She questioned, almost appearing worried.

He felt embarrassed by her concern, “Yes, I ate.” Zoro looked away from her accusing look, trying to stop himself from blushing.

The waiter came back with the sake and a menu. Sanji opened it and pointed to the section with seafood, grumbling, “Yeah, I’m sure you ate like shit, you stupid moss-head.”

Zoro was irritated by her comment, and he had no idea how she knew he liked seafood, but he decided to get onigiri and sea king steak. He told this to Sanji when she asked, then she got up from the table and walked away with the menu.

_Oh, sweet mother of—fuck! Her legs are so…but her ass._

He quickly shook his head, clearing his disturbing thoughts. There was no logical explanation for him to be thinking such thoughts. Zoro was really getting frustrated with himself and he already found himself missing Sanji’s company.

_She looked really happy to see me, why did she leave? Maybe she is just placing my order…?_

As he waited for Sanji to return, he decided to open the bottle of sake he was given. He very rarely had such expensive alcohol, so he was excited to get drinking.

_What’s taking her so long? How long does it take to tell them what I want? I just want to talk to her again…_

He sat at his table and nursed the expensive bottle of sake, grumbling to himself. After a while, Sanji reappeared with a plate of hot food that smelled and looked absolutely incredible. She placed it on the table and sat down in the chair across from him, expectantly.

He stared at her, then to the plate of food, then back to her, “Did you cook this yourself?”

“Obviously,” she rolled her eye, “I _am_ the head chef.”

“Oh, so _that’s_ what took so long,” he teased.

Sanji glared at him, still waiting for him to eat the food she made.

Zoro picked up his silverware and cut into the steak, which was cooked a perfect medium rare. He took a bite and decided it was singlehandedly, _the best_ thing he had ever eaten. However, he didn’t want to give Sanji that kind of satisfaction and said with seriousness, “I think you need to find a new head chef.”

“HA!” She laughed sarcastically, “You lying sack of shit!”

He narrowed his gaze, then took another bite of the steak.

“See! You love it,” she glared at him, but there was something glinting in her blue eye.

Zoro rolled his eye and took a bite of an onigiri, which was the _most delicious_ onigiri he _ever_ had. He closed his eye in content as he chewed the food, trying to keep his expression neutral.

“Geez, marimo, you don’t have to hide it.” She chuckled, “ _Everyone_ loves my food.”

When Zoro opened his eye, Sanji was leaning forward with a smirk on her red lips. He tried his best to scowl, “Whatever, shit cook.”

Sanji didn’t react to his name calling, instead she raised her curly eyebrow and studied him.

To distract himself from her gaze, Zoro just ate his food and silently enjoyed every bite. He tried not to look at Sanji, who was still sitting across from him, watching him eat with a tight smile on her lips. Zoro found himself glancing up at her every so often and every time he did, Sanji would smile at him a little bigger. Her smile made him feel weird, just like it had a few days earlier.

Truthfully, Zoro wasn’t entirely sure why she was the first thing he wanted to see after settling back into his place. He acted with his gut instinct, like he usually did, let his body do the thinking instead of his head. But now he found himself in a situation where he might need to explain something to this woman. Zoro had no idea what to say, he wasn’t very good with words, never had been.

Once he finished his meal, a waiter came and removed his empty plates. Sanji was still sitting across from him, and Zoro wondered why she wasn’t working. “I ate your food,” he grumbled, “Why don’t you leave me alone?”

Sanji scoffed, “Well, fine. If that is what you really want, I _will_ leave.” She looked rather offended, it made Zoro feel like an ass. As Sanji was standing to leave, he reached out and caught her wrist in his grip. She turned to him with anger in her blue eye, “Let go of me.”

Immediately, Zoro released her. He didn’t like the icy tone to her voice and the look in her eye gave him chills. There was something very unsettling about her sudden change in attitude.

While looking her in the eye, the words, “I’m sorry,” escaped from his lips and he really meant it. Zoro was _apologizing_ to her, something he _never_ did. And even though he didn’t know what exactly made Sanji upset like this, Zoro knew _he_ was the one who fucked up. He just didn’t know if it was because of what he said, that he touched her, or the fact he wanted her to stay. After a moment of silence between them, Sanji sat back down across from him.

Zoro released his breath, he didn’t realize he had even been holding it to begin with. He wanted to get back on this woman’s good side, if he had ever been there in the first place. He wanted to see her smile at him again. “Thank you for the food,” he bowed his head, “It was delicious,” he confessed.

Her blue eye met his gray one and the corner of her mouth turned upwards.

With his heart pounding in his chest, Zoro admitted, “I liked the songs you sang at the party more than these sad ones.” Her frown returned, and she looked away, he had to ask, “Did something happen?”

“Yeah, I got dumped…” She paused for a moment and reiterated, “Well, I caught him cheating on me, so I left him.”

For once in his life, Zoro was upset he had been right, “I’m sorry.” This was the second time he apologized to her in the past five minutes. But this time was different, he wasn’t the one who caused the hurt in her eyes.

His words managed to make her smile a little, “Thanks.”

Zoro hated the look on her perfect face. It was pained and sad; how could he not feel sorry that this woman was hurting? How could someone do this to her? He muttered, “What a fucking idiot.”

“Excuse me?” Sanji asked with shock on her face.

Looking into her blue eye, Zoro said with complete seriousness, “Whoever cheated you is a fucking idiot.”

Sanji shrugged, “I dunno, the guy’s a surgeon,” but she wouldn’t look him in the eye and her cheeks were rosy.

Zoro scoffed, “I don’t give a _shit_ if he is the best surgeon who ever _lived._ He’s a goddamn idiot.” He took another gulp of sake, then shook his head, “No, a _moron_.”

She softly chuckled, “You’re a moron.” The way she said it, although teasing, held endearment.

Zoro playfully rolled his eyes, then took another drink of sake, he knew it was helping him loosen up and actually talk. The look on Sanji’s face bothered him, the woman looked troubled. He wasn’t sure why, but he wanted to let her unburden herself, he wanted to be there for her to listen to what put a frown on her beautiful face.

_Beautiful face…? She is fucking gorgeous! Fuck…her hair looks so soft, like golden strands of silk. I wish I could see it down instead of pulled up, I wonder how long it is…the curl on the end of her eyebrow is so unique and pretty and only makes me like looking at her eye more… I wish I could brush her hair aside and see her other eye too…see her other curly eyebrow… And her skin is so pale, so smooth and clear—not a single blemish or scar. Mmm, fuck, I want to make my own marks on her… I want to smear that lipstick she’s got on her sexy mouth. Who the fuck would cheat on this woman? She is the entire—Fuck! I gotta stop and focus!_

“Do you want to talk about it?” When she glanced over at him, Zoro smirked and added, “I’m a great listener.”

That made her laugh. Zoro’s smile grew as Sanji smiled at him, she looked relieved and also a little embarrassed. “It’s stupid, really,” she began and shook her head, “I’m a silly woman, I gave him my whole heart and all he did was break it.”

Suddenly, Zoro’s blood ran cold.

Sanji continued, “This guy—well he’s a surgeon—so he works weird hours and I do too, so we couldn’t see each other that much.”

“So, he didn’t make time for you?” Zoro questioned. He was happy that she was only mentioning one guy, she didn’t seem like the type of woman who sleeps around—at least he hoped she wasn’t that type of woman.

She turned to frown at Zoro, he frowned in return as she explained, “Oh, he made time for me—when he was horny—that’s the only time I ever really got to see him.” Sanji sighed, “We were together for two years, I guess we weren’t really _dating_ , but the sex was exclusive.” Then she grumbled under her breath, but Zoro still heard her say, “He never _did_ stick around until morning.”

Sanji shook her head and turned away with a frown and a far-off look in her eye, “It was a couple weeks ago—the night I caught him with another woman.” She took a deep breath, “He messaged me wanting to come over, but I was at work and didn’t see it for a few hours. I ended up going to his place since we had each other’s key. Anyway, I walked-in on him and his hot neighbor having sex on his diner table.”

Zoro clenched his jaw, trying to control the wave of anger that washed over him. He didn’t like thinking of Sanji being used for sex and left to wake up alone. He didn’t like thinking about her being with anyone like that—especially this ungrateful, unworthy asshole.

_Well, I do like thinking of her being with me…_

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, “Forget about him, he sounds like an asshole.”

Her blue eye snapped to his, she looked surprised, then looked away and muttered, “Well, thanks, I guess.”

Inwardly groaning, Zoro cursed himself for being such an idiot. This woman had opened up to him about her shitty past relationship. She let him see her vulnerable, she didn’t hide behind silence and was honest, bold, and expressed what she felt and thought. She was so unlike himself in that way. Sanji was good with words and feelings.

But Zoro wasn’t. He didn’t know how to describe the way he felt. But seeing her like this: sad and defeated, made him feel it too.  He reached out and placed his hand on hers sitting on the table—to comfort her. Oddly, when their skin touched, Zoro thought it felt hotter than it should. Once their eyes met, he felt embarrassed and pulled his hand back, then he scratched the back of his head and looked away.

After a moment, he turned back to her with a small smile, “Thanks for the food and booze, curly brow.”

She nodded her head, Zoro thought her cheeks looked flushed. He stayed staring at her like that, neither of them saying anything, until Sanji cleared her throat, “Well, I should get back to work. We’ll be closing soon.”

“Oh,” he snapped out of his daze and pulled his wallet from his pocket, leaving a tip. Sanji eyed him curiously, so he gave her a smirk, “For cooking lessons.”

He turned around and left the restaurant, thankfully without losing his way, and left behind a fuming blonde cook behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the second chapter, sorry it isn't as long as the first. Chapter 3 will be longer, hopefully will be uploaded in the next couple days.  
> Until then, please leave a comment, let me know what you think! I really appreciated all the feedback people gave me after uploading chapter 1.
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	3. Zoro's Tuesday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.

The next day, Zoro had woken up early like he always did, but he did not feel very well rested. Despite this, he got up and immediately went to his training room to workout.

Using his weighted swords, one in each arm, he started to swing them to try and clear his thoughts. “One, two, three…”

The muscles of his arms were tight, but as he continued to swing, they started to relax, and his workout went smoothly, “Four-hundred twenty-two, four-hundred twenty-three, four-hundred twenty-four…”

Zoro’s mind was clear and he was loving the burning feeling in his arms as he finished his morning workout, “One thousand nine-hundred ninety-eight, one thousand nine-hundred ninety-nine, two thousand.”

He set the weighted swords down and stretched his arms. When he looked at the clock, it was nearly seven in the morning, so he went to his kitchen and made himself some breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, and toast.

As he ate it, he wondered what it would be like to have Sanji cook breakfast for him.

_I bet anything she would make would taste better than this…she really is an amazing cook… I bet she wears an apron while she cooks, I’d love it if she wore nothing else. Wait. Why am I thinking about that woman cooking breakfast for me in nothing but an apron?_

Clenching his jaw, Zoro shook his head, “Damn woman. I can’t stop thinking about her.”

After eating and cleaning up his dishes, Zoro took a cold shower. He was feeling all hot and bothered thinking about Sanji and the only way he knew how to deal with that was by blasting himself with cold water until his erection was gone.

Once nine o’clock came around he had dressed himself in loose pants and went down to the dojo to wait for his client to come for their lesson.

It was someone new, a woman, and when Zoro walked into the room, she was already there. He saw she had dark hair, wore red-framed glasses, and looked _very_ familiar.

“Hello, are you Roronoa Zoro?” She asked him with an expectant look in her eyes.

He scowled at her, “Yes, I am. Who’re you?”

She smiled and extended her hand, “I’m Tashigi.”

Zoro frowned, but took her hand and shook it, regardless. “Are you my nine o’clock?”

“Yes, I believe so!” She was grinning from ear to ear at Zoro and he didn’t know what to think of her. He turned to grab his swords from their locked case and as he was taking them out she screamed, “Is that Wado Ichimonji?!”

Turning back to her with his eyebrow raised, “Eh? Oh, yeah.”

She was staring at him, wide-eyed, “How did you come to own that sword?”

“It was given to me,” was all he told her.

Tashigi scoffed, “People don’t just _give_ someone a legendary sword!”

Zoro gritted his teeth, “Well, that’s what happened.”

She didn’t seem to be happy with his answer and pressed him further, “Come on! Why won’t you just tell me? I am only curious!”

“It’s not something I like to discuss with just anyone.” He replied coolly, “Now why don’t we get started with this lesson and show me what you’ve got?”

Tashigi smiled smugly, “Okay, fine. But I am going to get you to tell me how you got that sword, one day.”

Zoro smirked, enjoying the woman’s determination. She reminded him of the previous sword’s owner in more ways than just appearances.

Over the next couple hours, he helped her practice her swordsmanship, and Zoro was actually pretty impressed with how much she knew. When the lesson was over they bid each other farewell and Zoro went to his meditation room to clear his head until lunch.

However, it didn’t really go as well as he would’ve liked. Zoro was still finding his thoughts drifting to a certain blonde cook.

_I wonder what she is doing right now… Probably getting ready for lunchtime. Ugh… I wish I didn’t have to wait until dinner to see her. I’ve got shit to do here until six, I can’t really just forget about the lessons I have to teach… Fuck, this sucks… All I want to do is see her…_

The next hour was an eternal struggle with himself as he tried to stop thinking about her but found himself incapable of doing so.

Lunch was just as unspectacular of a meal, Zoro just made himself a sandwich and grumbled about it the entire time. “Nothing I make tastes good anymore…”

At one he had another lesson with a longtime client. When he went back down to the dojo, he was already there waiting for him. “How was the vacation, Zoro-ya?”

Zoro scowled at the man, “It wasn’t a vacation.”

Law chuckled at him, “Yeah, what else do you call a week-long trip out of town for a party, hmm? So, tell me, how was it?”

He rolled his eye, “It was…interesting.”

The taller man cocked an eyebrow and smirked at him, “Interesting?”

Zoro grunted, “It’s nothing.”

“Doesn’t _look_ like nothing.” Law said smugly, “Don’t tell me it’s a woman.”

“Okay~” Zoro needed to stop having this conversation, “Let’s get started…”

Law burst out laughing, “Oh my god! I’m right aren’t I?!”

Zoro glared at him, “Shut the hell up.”

The man raised his hands in defeat, “Hey, I didn’t say anything!”

“Can we please just get started?” Zoro sighed, trying to not get any more frustrated.

“Yeah, sure…” Law eyed him with a slightly worried look, then shook his head, “I’ve just never seen you like this.”

Zoro sighed, “I’ve never felt like this…”

Neither of them went for their swords, instead they stood there, as if waiting for the other to say something. Law ended up asking, “What’s she like?”

With a sigh of defeat, Zoro told him, “She’s fucking frustrating, that’s what.”

Law cocked his eyebrow, “Anything else?”

Zoro rolled his eye, “She’s blonde.”

That made Law start laughing again, “Yeah, I know the type.”

“Huh, frustrating, blonde women?” Zoro smirked.

“Yeah,” Law shook his head, “If you want my advice, I’d say she’s not worth the trouble.”

His comment irritated Zoro, “What do you mean?”

“Honestly?” Law thought for a moment, “My last girl was a blonde and as much as I enjoyed my time with her, she was always acting so needy and I _hated_ that.”

Zoro thought Law was irritating him before, but as soon as he said that, he was about ten times more irritated. He went for his swords and gestured for Law to grab his own and they began the lesson without another word.

At three, Law left, and the younger kids started showing up for the class Zoro taught for grade schoolers. In the next half-hour the whole class was there, and he started the lesson.

He didn’t use his steel swords for this lesson, instead he used wooden swords, as did all the kids. When Zoro first started teaching, he was very hesitant about everything, but over the past couple years he has gotten the hang of it and found that he really enjoys it, especially the young kids.

The next couple hours flew by and parents started showing up to pick up their kids from the lesson. None of them wanted to stay and talk with him tonight, which he was grateful for. Once he was alone again in the dojo, he went up to his place and took a much-needed shower.

Again, it was cold because he found himself sporting a large erection.

_What the fuck am I getting hard for?!_

After his shower, Zoro dried off and got himself dressed to go to _All Blue._ He ended up wearing a plain white tee shirt with a pair of jeans and threw on his leather jacket. Zoro glanced in the mirror before he left his place and smiled at his appearance.

Zoro walked next door to visit Sanji’s restaurant. He couldn’t help the smile on his face as he walked through the doors and was seated at the same table as yesterday. After ordering the sea king steak and onigiri, again, Zoro was brought a bottle of sake, which he gladly began to drink.

When his food was brought out to him, Zoro’s stomach grumbled hungrily. Upon taking the first bite, he closed his eyes in pleasure.

_She is a far better cook than me, that’s for damn sure. I wish I could always eat her cooking._

He was eating his delicious food, musicians came out onto the stage with their instruments, causing Zoro to perk up, and he began to scan the restaurant for any sign of the blonde chef.

Just when he was about to give up his search, Zoro spotted her walking up to the stage in a sleek red dress. When she stepped up to the microphone, she started to sing, with the instruments joining her. (“Hotline Bling” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

 _You used to call me on my cell phone_  
Late night when you need my love  
Call me on my cell phone  
Late night when you need my love  
I know when that hotline bling  
That can only mean one thing  
I know when that hotline bling  
That can only mean one thing  
  
Ever since I left the city, you-ooo  
You and me, we just don't get along  
You make me feel like I did you wrong  
Going places where you don't belong  
Ever since I left the city, you-ooo  
You got exactly what you asked for  
Running out of pages in your passport  
Hangin' with some girls I've never seen before

 __  
You used to call me on my cell phone  
Late night when you need my love  
Call me on my cell phone  
Late night when you need my love  
I know when that hotline bling  
That can only mean one thing  
I know when that hotline bling  
That can only mean one thing  
  
The music changed and Sanji’s singing became much more serious and passionate.

 _These days, all I do is  
Wondering if you're bendin' over backwards for someone else  
Wondering if you're rolling Backwoods for someone else  
Doing things I taught you, gettin' nasty for someone else  
You don't need no one else  
You don't need nobody else, no  
Why you never alone?  
Why you always touching road?  
Used to always stay at home  
Be a good girl, you was in the zone  
You should just be yourself  
Right now, you're someone else  
  
_Sanji strut around the stage, confidently, she _did_ own it after all. She shook her hips to the music with a sly smile on her red lips, seeming to know the effect it would have on the men in the room.

 __  
You used to call me on my cell phone  
Late night when you need my love  
Call me on my cell phone  
Late night when you need my love

 _I know when that hotline bling_  
That can only mean one thing  
I know when that hotline bling  
That can only mean one thing  


Sanji’s voice shook him to his core; when the song ended he was completely blown away. He could tell she was hurting, putting on a brave face to hide the way she really felt. She only showed that side of herself as she sang. When the next song began, Zoro listened intently to what she had to say. (“Somebody That I Used to Know” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

 _Now and then I think of when we were together_  
Like when you said you felt so happy you could die  
I told myself that you were right for me  
But felt so lonely in your company  
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember  
  
You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness  
With resignation to the end, always the end  
And when we found that we can not make sense  
Oh you said that we would still be friends  
But I'll admit that I was glad it was over

The tempo changed and Sanji began to sing with that same seriousness and passion in her voice he was becoming familiar with.

 _But you didn't have to cut me off_  
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing  
I don't even need your love  
‘Cause you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough  
  
Boy you didn't have to stoop so low  
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number  
Guess that I don't need that though  
Now you're just somebody that I used to know  
  
Somebody I used to know  
Somebody  
  
Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over  
But had me believing it was always something that I'd done  
  
But I don't wanna live that way  
Reading into every word you say  
You said that you could let it go  
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know  
  
But you didn't have to cut me off  
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing  
I don't even need your love  
‘Cause you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough  
  
Boy you didn't have to stoop so low  
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number  
Guess that I don't need that though  
Now you're just somebody that I used to know  
  
Somebody I used to know  
Somebody I used to know  
Somebody I used to know  
Somebody

Zoro’s heart was pounding in his chest, Sanji was incredible like always. But fuck, whoever cheated on her really had a hold on her. He really hurt Sanji, Zoro could easily see that—but there wasn’t much he could do about it, was there? He wanted to listen to her sing, the next song was slow and as she began to sing her voice was full and rich. (“Habits” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

_Oh-oh, Oh-oh, Oh-oh_

_I eat my dinner in my bathtub_  
Then I go to sex clubs  
Watching freaky people getting it on

 _And it doesn't make me nervous_  
If anything, I'm restless  
Yeah, I've been around and I've seen it all  
I get home, I got the munchies  
Binge on all my Twinkies  
Throw up in the tub, then I go to sleep  
And I drank up all my money  
It tasted kinda lonely  
  
Well you're gone and I got to stay high  
All the time, to keep you off my mind  
Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh  
High, all the time, to keep you off my mind  
Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh  
Spend my days locked in a haze  
Trying to forget you, babe  
But I fall back down  
Gotta stay high, all my life  
To forget I'm missing you

The song had a very jazzy feel to it, Zoro liked it, but the song itself was pretty depressing.

 __  
I Pick up daddies at the playground  
That's how I spend my days now  
Loosen up their frown, make them feel alive  
Make it fast and make it greasy  
I know I'm way too easy  
  
Sanji shrugged her shoulders and spread her arms apart.

 _But you're gone and I got to stay high_  
All the time, to keep you off my mind  
Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh  
High, all the time, to keep you off my mind  
Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh  
Spend my days locked in a haze  
Trying to forget you, babe  
But I fall back down  
I gotta stay high, all my life  
To forget I'm missing you

The beat slowed down and Sanji gently sang.

 __  
Oh, Staying in my play pretend  
Where the fun ain't got no end, oh  
Can't go home alone again  
Need someone to numb the pain, oh  
Staying in my play pretend  
Where the fun ain't got no end, oh  
No I can't go home alone again  
Need someone to numb the pain  
Oh you know, I got to stay high  
All the time, to keep you off my mind

Sanji softly whistled and continued to sing.

 __  
High, all the time, to keep you off my mind  
Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh  
Spend my days locked in a haze  
Trying to forget you, babe  
But I fall back down  
I gotta stay high, all the time  
To forget I'm missing you  
Gotta stay high, all the time  
To forget I'm missing you

_Oh-oh, woohoo_

Sanji’s singing was as mesmerizing as ever, but Zoro was feeling way too much. By feeling, he means this aching in his chest that he got when he started thinking about how hurt Sanji must be from that asshole cheating on her. (“New Rules” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

_Talkin' in my sleep at night, makin' myself crazy_

_Outta my mind, outta my mind  
Wrote it down and read it out, hopin' it would save me_

_Too many times, too many times_  
Woah, he makes me feel like nobody else, nobody else  
But my love, he doesn't love me, so I tell myself, I tell myself

 _Woah, One: Don't pick up the phone_  
You know he's only callin' 'cause he's drunk and alone  
Two: Don't let him in  
You'll have to kick him out again  
Three: Don't be his friend  
You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning  
And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him  


_I got new rules, I count 'em_

_Woah, I’ve got new rules, I count ‘em_

_Woah, I’ve got to tell them to myself_

_Woah, I’ve got new rules, I count ‘em_

_Woah, I’ve got to tell them_

_I keep pushin' forwards, but he keeps pullin' me backwards_

_Nowhere to turn, nowhere to turn  
Now I'm standin' back from it, I finally see the pattern_

_I never learn, I never learn_  
But my love, he doesn't love me, so I tell myself, I tell myself  
I do, I do, I do

 _One: Don't pick up the phone_  
You know he's only callin' 'cause he's drunk and alone  
Two: Don't let him in  
You'll have to kick him out again  
Three: Don't be his friend  
You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning  
And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him  


_I got new rules, I count 'em_

_Woah, I’ve got new rules, I count ‘em_

_Woah, I’ve got to tell them to myself_

_Woah, I’ve got new rules, I count ‘em_

_Woah, I’ve gotta tell them_

_Practice makes perfect_  
I'm still tryna learn it by heart  
Eat, sleep, and breathe it  
Rehearse and repeat it, 'cause I...

 _One: Don't pick up the phone_  
You know he's only callin' 'cause he's drunk and alone  
Two: Don't let him in  
You'll have to kick him out again  
Three: Don't be his friend  
You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning  
And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him

 _I got new rules, I count 'em_  
Woah, I got new rules, I count 'em  
Woah, I gotta tell them to myself  
Woah, I got new rules, I count 'em  
Woah, I gotta tell them  
  
Don't let him in, don't let him in  
Don't let him in, don't let him in   
Don't be his friend, don't be his friend  
Don't be his friend, don't be his friend  
Don't let him in, don't let him in  
Don't let him in, don’t let him in  
Don't be his friend, don't be his friend  
I’ve got new rules I count ‘em

Zoro was left absolutely speechless. Sanji’s voice sent chills down his spine, being in the same room as her was electrifying. She sang with just as much passion and emotion as always and it broke Zoro’s heart hearing her sing the words she was. When the music resumed, Zoro was upset that it was another slow, and presumably sad song. (“Jar of Hearts” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

 _I know I can't take one more step towards you_  
'Cause all that's waiting is regret  
And don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore  
You lost the love I loved the most  
  
I learned to live half-alive  
And now you want me one more time  


The beat picked up and Sanji opened her eye, there was determination on her face.

 __  
And who do you think you are, running 'round leaving scars?  
Collecting your jar of hearts and tearing love apart  
You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul  
So don't come back for me, who do you think you are?  


Zoro watched in awe as Sanji seemed to let herself go and sing with more energy in every breath.

 __  
I hear you're asking all around  
If I am anywhere to be found  
But I have grown too strong  
To ever fall back in your arms  
  
I learned to live half-alive  
And now you want me one more time, ohh  
  
And who do you think you are, running 'round leaving scars?  
Collecting your jar of hearts and tearing love apart  
You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul  
So don't come back for me, who do you think you are?  
  
The sounds of the instruments were tuned out for Zoro as he watched Sanji close her eye and gently sing into the microphone.

 _And it took so long just to feel alright_  
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes  


Suddenly, she became more serious and the beat grew. Every word Sanji sang hit Zoro square in the chest. Listening to her sing was such an emotional experience for him, he felt so many things he never had before.

_I wish I had missed the first time that we’ve kissed  
'Cause you broke all your promises_

_And now you're back, no you don't get to get me back!_  
Running 'round leaving scars?  
Collecting your jar of hearts and tearing love apart  
You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul  
So don't come back for me, don't come back at all!  
  
Who do you think you are?  
Who do you think you are?  
Who do you think you are?

By the end of the song, Sanji’s voice was so soft and pained Zoro felt like he knew exactly how Sanji must feel. She smiled out at the crowd and nodded her head in silent greetings. It appeared to be the end of the set, as the musicians were clearing the stage.

Zoro was left frozen in his seat, but his eye never left Sanji. He was upset that she was singing sad songs. Not like it was any of his business what she sang about or anything, but he would much rather listen to her sing happy songs.

He watched, forgetting about his half-finished food in front of him, and waited for her to look in his direction. She began to walk off the stage and Zoro’s gaze wandered down to her legs.

_Oh sweet… Fuck, her legs are so fucking sexy! They look so smooth and thick… I want to have those legs wrapped around me… Yes, keep walking towards me… Come sit on my lap, sexy… Wait. Shit…_

He glanced up and was met with Sanji’s unamused gaze as she stood at his table. Zoro’s entire face felt like it was on fire. He gulped, but stayed silent, waiting for Sanji to say something. She eventually sighed, “Eat your food before it gets cold, marimo.”

Zoro scowled, then turned to the table to see his half-eaten dinner. He decided to listen to her and went back to his meal. He certainly owed it to her for imagining such perverted things involving her.

After taking another bite of his sea king steak, Zoro turned to glance at Sanji who was still standing beside his table with an unreadable expression. He swallowed the food in his mouth and asked, “Would you like to sit?”

Sanji raised her curly eyebrow, studied him for a moment, then turned and sat in the chair across from him. She was staying quiet, but she was with him nonetheless. Zoro gently smiled at her, then continued to eat his food. They stayed like that until he was finished.

He took a large swig of sake from the bottle he ordered with his meal. Sanji still hadn’t said anything to him, so Zoro decided to break the silence, “It’s nice to see you, curly brow.”

Her eye met his and Zoro could feel his heart hammering against his chest as she stared at him.

Still, Sanji was quiet, and it was frustrating him, “Oi, say something, shit cook!”

Sanji sighed and she asked, “Why are you here?”

“Uh—well, I—” Zoro closed his mouth shut, he didn’t know what to say. This was something he wasn’t prepared for. He answered her with the first thing that came to his mind, “I guess I wanted to hear you sing again.”

Her cheeks turned pink, she looked so beautiful to Zoro in that moment. With a small smile she asked, “Is that so?”

Zoro gave her a crooked grin, “Yeah, definitely.”

Sanji raised her curly eyebrow, with a sad tone to her voice, she asked, “So you only wanted to hear me sing?” Then she frowned, “No other reason?”

His shoulders fell, “No?” He didn’t know why, but he felt like a dick. “Uh, I mean, what am I supposed to say?”

Sanji really did not look happy. In fact, she looked pissed. She had her arms crossed and was glaring at him, “Seriously?”

“What?” He was now scowling at her in return, but Sanji didn’t say anything and continued glaring at him from across the table. Zoro grumbled, “You are so frustrating.”

Then she stood up from the table and walked around to stand in front of him. She leaned forward with her hand resting on the back of his chair, and as Sanji was only inches from his face as she snarled, “ _You_ are frustrating _me_ , marimo.”

Before he could say anything, Sanji stood up straight and sauntered off.

_The fuck? Damn this woman! She is the frustrating one—not me! What the hell does she want from me?! Oh fuck—I don’t remember her ass looking that good. Argh! I need to get ahold of myself!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! First off, I would like to say thank you SOOOO much for all the wonderful comments on this story. I really appreciate you all for letting me know how you like the story.   
> I'm happy to hear that no one has too much of a problem with Sanji being female. But if you do, you don't have to read, so it's whatever.   
> Also, for those of you who thought that Law was an asshole after reading chapter 2, what do you think now after learning he is one of Zoro's students? Haha, I had already written that, so it was amusing to me to read the comments about Law.   
> Anyway, let me know what you thought of this chapter, too!   
> I've got another 20 pages or so of this story written already, but I think I'm going to write the next chapter in Sanji's perspective and there won't be any songs. So... yeah, anyway, leave a comment if you have anything to say :)
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	4. Let's Learn About Sanji

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
> 
> This chapter is from Sanji's perspective.

When Sanji had walked away from Zoro, she went to her back office and grabbed her things. She was done for the night; her crew would close up. But all that was honestly the _last thing_ on Sanji’s mind.

Right now, if she was going to calm the fuck down, she needed her nicotine.

Exiting her restaurant through the back door, Sanji made her way down the block to her special spot that she would go to at this time of day. It might not look like much, but to Sanji it was the whole reason she came to Raftel to open her restaurant.

At the top of a cliff there was some railing, so no one would fall over the edge. Not even a bench to sit on, which Sanji thought was always a shame, because it was such a pretty view. But she didn’t mind, it just meant no one else would think to come here. It was the most gorgeous view; the sky and the ocean were endless and a view that was normally all blue always had the prettiest sunsets.

She leaned against the railing, lit the cigarette and inhaled the toxic smoke, letting it fill her lungs—the same lungs she used to sing. But Sanji couldn’t worry about that right now, because right now she was feeling more fucking frustrated than she ever had in her life.

“That goddamn marimo. What the hell is he doing showing up here, again?” She shook her head, talking to herself, as she smoked the cigarette she knew she shouldn’t have, “Last night he accused me of needing cooking lessons—fucking _insults_ my craft! Then comes back today, saying he wanted to hear me _sing?_ Hmph, he doesn’t even have the fucking balls to tell me he’s interested.”

That was what really ate at Sanji—the fact that the damn marimo was _obviously_ interested in her but didn’t do anything about it. She made it _very_ clear that she was not seeing anyone, she made it clear that she was interested in _him._ She told him he was _cute_ , she gave him a _free_ meal and his _favorite, expensive_ booze.

And yet when he showed up for a second night in a row, he said he only wanted to hear her sing.

To say she was disappointed was an understatement.

Not that she cared, because she didn’t. Sanji _really_ didn’t need another guy in her life who was just going to end up hurting her in the end. And that was all the marimo would do too. She knew this, maybe he did too, maybe _that_ was why he didn’t do anything about it.

_Or maybe he really isn’t interested… No, why else would he act the way he does around me? He was flirting with me the other night, I’m sure of it! Why else would he care what kind of songs I sing, if they were happy or depressing? Why did he offer to let me sit with him, especially if all he wanted was to hear me sing? Ughhh! Why did he have to show up again?!_

Far too quickly, the cigarette was finished and Sanji wished she could allow herself to smoke another, but she knew that wasn’t a good idea. She only allowed herself one a day, she was trying to quit, but it was impossibly hard.

She let out a long sigh and placed the filter back into the package before she picked herself up off the railing and turned away to head to her apartment.

Along the way, Sanji found herself becoming more and more frustrated by the green-haired man.

_Why the hell can’t I stop thinking about him?! The world is so fucking cruel. Why do I always have to get hurt? No one wants me, I am never good enough, Law didn’t want me and neither does Zoro._

It hurt. All of it. The betrayal, the heartbreak, the lying, the cheating, the silence, but mostly the complete and utter lack of empathy on Law’s part. That was what hurt the most. There wasn’t anything that Sanji could do to change what had happened, but she would be lying if she said she didn’t regret it.

Because how could she not? How could Sanji _not_ regret being so stupid? To be so naïve to think that a man like Law could ever love and care for a woman like herself? How could Sanji _not_ regret something that only caused her pain in the end?

All she ever wanted was for someone to care for her and love her the same way she would for them. Instead she ended up falling for a sexy surgeon who only wanted to screw her over.

When she unlocked the door to her apartment, she was reminded of everything she so desperately wanted to forget. The place was the same as it had been for the past two years. There were still pictures of her and Law all over the place. She still had his jacket hanging in the closet, a pair of shoes as well, and other items of his clothing scattered throughout the place. Everything about this place reminded her of the time they spent together. She hated it. It felt like she was drowning.

It wasn’t like she wanted to be with Law anymore, it wasn’t like she missed him. She had left him because he cheated.

The reason she felt so upset was because she had thought she could be the one to win his heart. She thought that after being together for two years, Law would finally start opening up to her. But Sanji had been wrong, and now she was feeling broken and inadequate.

She tried to ignore the constant reminders of what used to be, depositing her things on the table by the front door, the table that still had a picture of the two of them together—her smile larger than Law’s.

Sanji took off her red dress and high heels as she made her way to the bathroom for a shower—the same shower she used to use with Law and still had his soap inside.

That’s when she broke down and began to cry.

Normally, Sanji would sing in the shower. The acoustics were incredible, and she loved the way it sounded. But tonight, all she could hear were the sounds of her sobs as they ripped through her throat. How long had it been since she cried like this?

Honestly, she didn’t care right now. Sanji was exhausted and tired of pretending that everything was fine. She was too upset about Law, too hurt from knowing that she was putting on a mask.

Things weren’t always like this, she wasn’t always so broken up and pathetic. Sanji used to feel like she could do anything, even if no one else believed in her. That was how she managed to start her own restaurant and how it quickly became the most popular place in town. She was a successful chef and restaurant owner, she was strong and independent and didn’t need anyone else.

But she would be lying if she said that she didn’t want anything or anyone else.

More than anything, Sanji wanted to find someone to spend her life with. She was a romantic at heart, even if her own relationships never worked out, she still found herself wanting to find one that would. There was always this part of her that craved for someone to care for her, but really, who didn’t?

Was it so wrong for her to want someone to care about her? To actually give a damn? To want to make her happy? To _love_ her?

Somehow, that was always too much to ask for Sanji. For some reason, none of the men she loved returned the feeling. Still, she would try to earn it—Sanji would do anything for them. But she would always get hurt in every relationship she ever was in.

She thought Law was different because he stuck around longer than anyone else had. Two whole years of being there for him whenever he needed her. There were nights when he’d call her after waking from a nightmare and Sanji would go to his place to comfort him. Yeah, they usually ended up having sex, but Sanji would do whatever she could to see his smile.   

But the truth was that none of _that_ mattered in the end. It didn’t matter to Law if it was Sanji who was there for him or if it was some other girl. To Law, Sanji was replaceable. That’s all she was.

The water was getting cold and Sanji hadn’t even washed herself. As quickly as she could, she washed her hair and face, then got out from under the cold water.

At least she was no longer crying, but when she looked in the mirror, she saw her eyes were all puffy and red. She frowned at her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her teeth and got herself ready for bed.

It was only eight-thirty, but she wanted this shitty day to be over and was feeling too emotionally and physically exhausted to stay awake any longer. She dressed herself in her silky pajamas and climbed into bed. Almost immediately, Sanji fell asleep.

When her alarm went off at five in the morning, Sanji woke up from a dream about a certain green-haired swordsman. She couldn’t remember anything specific, but she was upset to have it be over.

Groaning, Sanji rolled out of her bed and walked to the bathroom to relieve herself and begin her morning routine.

The mirror was not her friend—It reminded her of what happened last night. Mostly, her break-down in the shower. She looked like hell.

Sanji sighed, “I’ll have to wear more makeup than usual to cover up _this_ mess…”

Before she worried about that, Sanji made herself a simple breakfast of fresh fruit, orange juice, and toast. She needed to eat _something_ as soon as possible, otherwise she would _not_ be able to function. Sanji could never handle the feeling of hunger, not after what she endured as a child.

There weren’t very many things that brought Sanji happiness in her life as a child. She hated her family; the only one who ever showed her any love was her mother, and then she died. If it wasn’t for the family chef, Zeff, taking her away from them…well, Sanji didn’t like to imagine how things could’ve ended up going.

Zeff was honestly the best thing that ever happened to Sanji. Even before her mother passed, Zeff would let her hang around in the kitchen. It was the one place in the house where she was not tormented by her siblings and father. As he cooked, she would sing, and as long as she stayed out of his way, he didn’t mind. After her mother died, there was no one in her family cared about her—her father didn’t even object when Zeff offered to raise her himself.

That was two decades ago, Zeff had raised her all by himself from the age of six onwards. The man wasn’t the best at dealing with her girl issues when she hit puberty, he also wasn’t very good with comforting a crying girl. Sanji assumed that parenting wasn’t something he ever planned on doing—but he did it for her. She never understood what it was that compelled him to show her such kindness, but she was forever in his debt.

They had opened the _Baratie_ in East Blue City, on the other side of the world for her seventh birthday. It was far away from the people who didn’t want her and a fresh start. Zeff encouraged Sanji to sing for the customers and he would cook the best food anyone had ever eaten. The restaurant quickly became known for these two things, along with impeccable customer service.

As she got older, Zeff let her start to cook things herself, which after watching him for so long, she easily picked up and was very good at. Zeff realized this and made sure Sanji could go through the necessary schooling to reach her full potential.

He never made things easy for her, he made sure she could handle anything and everything. He made her tough and strong and confident.

Thinking of Zeff, Sanji felt even worse—the way she let herself crumble and act so weak the night before was embarrassing. She knew Zeff would be disappointed in her, and that was the last thing she _ever_ wanted to do.

Back in the bathroom, Sanji began to apply her makeup, taking extra time to cover the red, puffiness of her eyes. Then she styled her hair, clipping it up in the back and covering her left eye with her bangs.

She looked at her final appearance and nodded, “A—” Her voice cracked. Sanji cleared her throat, “A—”

_Shit! I lost my voice!_

With a breathless sigh, Sanji shook her head in dismay. Apparently, she was wailing too much in her crying fit and wore out her voice. That was stupid. A big, stupid mistake. She was made a lot of those.

Since she wouldn’t be singing at work, she decided to wear a pair of black pants and a button-up blue top. Her workers knew that when she wore pants, she wasn’t going to perform. It was an unspoken thing that they all just _knew._

The problem was that she wouldn’t be able to speak to anyone. Not to bark orders, not a single conversation, absolutely nothing. Sanji was already getting a headache thinking about how big of a pain in her ass this was going to be.

She left for work at six-forty-five with her jacket, bag, and keys in-hand. As Sanji walked to her restaurant, she found her thoughts drifting back to Nami and Vivi’s engagement shower.

*Flashback*

Sanji had finished singing and looked around the room, searching for Nami or Vivi. She saw them both sitting at a table with a strange, but oddly familiar group of people. As she walked over, she couldn’t help but notice the green-haired man who sat beside Nami.

The first thing that she wondered was if his hair was soft. Then she noticed the three gold earrings that hung from his left ear. But then before she had time to look at him any further, Nami jumped up and greeted her with a big hug, “Sanji~! That was _amazing_! _You_ are amazing! Thank you, _so much_!”

She loved her friend so much, Nami really was far too kind. Sanji smiled and returned the hug, squeezing Nami in a tight embrace, “Oh, my dearest Nami, it was my _pleasure!_ You know I’d do _anything_ for you two!”

Nami looked so grateful when she pulled away, “You have already done _so much!_ I wish there was a way for me to repay you with something other than money.”

Okat, now _this_ was really too much, Sanji couldn’t imagine why her friends felt like they had to do something and shook her head, “Really, there is no need. You and Vivi are two of my _dearest_ friends, you’re already paying me too much. I would _refuse_ payment, but that’s not good for business.”

“Aww~” Vivi gave her a hug, not as long as the one Nami gave her, but that was just Vivi. “That’s really _so_ sweet of you, Sanji. I don’t know _what_ Nami and I would do without you. But~”

_Uh oh, I don’t like the sound of that…_

“But~ nothing!” Oh god, they were up to something! Sanji really did _not_ want them to do something to embarrass her in front of these people. She gave them both a pleading look, then she glanced at the table and somehow, she met the gaze of the green-haired guy.

Almost immediately he turned away, he must have been watching her. Sanji found that interesting but turned back to Nami, who had that same devious look in her eyes that Sanji knew oh so well from back when they were in college.

Nami was smirking at her, knowingly, “Sanji, you’ve met some of my friends from my hometown before, right?”

So, _that’s_ why they seemed familiar. She nodded her head, “I’ve met Robin, of course~,” Sanji was happy to see her and waved, “Hello, Robin dear!” She was grinning as she pointed to another, “And you, Luffy.” That boy really was a glutton, Sanji loved it when he came to her restaurant, “How’s my _favorite customer_ doing~?”

Luffy gave her his childish smile that was really just adorable, “Great!”

As Sanji was swooning over that smile, Nami interrupted her daydreaming, “Okay, well everyone, this is Sanji.” When Sanji glanced at her friend, she recognized her the serious look in her eyes and had a bad feeling as Nami continued, “She is _amazing_ , like—a true goddess. She is pretty much the brains of this entire night. She did _all_ the planning, the decorations, the food—and _sang_ of course! This party wouldn’t be anything if it wasn’t for Sanji and her _absolute passion_ to entertain—Vivi and I are just the ones who pay the bill.”

It was this kind of thing that Sanji did _not_ want Nami to do. She didn’t want to be talked up like this in front of people, Sanji would rather not brag about herself—at least not unless it was brought up in the conversation.

Whatever, Sanji would ignore it—for now. She had heard _so much_ about Nami’s childhood friends, she couldn’t wait to meet them, “Oh hush, just tell me who is who, so I have a face to put to all the stories you’ve told me.”

Nami giggled, knowing exactly why Sanji wanted to know who was who, “Okay, okay, relax!” She started with the person she already knew, and introduced them clockwise, “This is Robin and her boyfriend Franky. Then there’s Usopp and his wife Kaya. Sabo and his girlfriend, Koala. Ace and his husband, Marco. Luffy and his boyfriend, Kid.” Nami then grabbed the last guy and teasingly shook his body while shooting Sanji an amused smile, “And this is Zoro—he’s perpetually single.”

When he met her gaze, he wore a rather pissed-off expression, but that didn’t deter from his attractiveness. It was the first time Sanji was able to get a good look at the guy. She wondered what happed to his eye to have gotten a scar over it but dismissed it quickly.

_Zoro… Zoro… What has Nami said about him? The name is so familiar… That’s it!_

She finally remembered, “ _You’re_ the one who always gets lost!”

Everyone at the table burst into laughter.

_Huh, that must be a running joke or something?_

Zoro seemed to be pretty embarrassed about it and scowled at her, “What was that, curly brow?”

_The fuck? Why’s he looking at me like that?! And hho’s he calling ‘curly brow’?! Two can play at that game, you bastard._

Sanji put on her bitch face, “Did you get lost on the way here too, marimo?”

He looked like he was just slapped in the face. It was cute. Such a big, strong man looked like no one ever insulted him in his life. He was so shocked by it that he didn’t even answer the question, but the blond guy across the table, Sabo, did with a chuckle in his voice, “He called me asking for directions.”

Zoro turned away from her and shot the guy a deadly look, but it only made the blond man start laughing harder.

Nami shouted, “Hey! I gave you _very_ specific directions on how to get here,” she sounded _pissed_.

Out of nowhere, Luffy yelled, “Oi, Sanji! Did you really cook all this yummy food?!”

This boy was really _so_ cute, Sanji couldn’t help but smile sweetly at him, “Well~ my workers did! My restaurant catered, so all the recipes are my own.”

Sanji was surprised by how quickly they all began to tell her all about what they thought of the party. Maybe it wasn’t so bad that Nami told them she did all this stuff because these people were all really nice.

“I love the flowers, roses are so~ romantic,” the wife of the long-nosed guy, Usopp, said. The girl, Koala, seemed to agree because she was nodding her head enthusiastically.

“Shishishi, they look like Kid’s hair,” Luffy grinned.

The guy with red hair rolled his eyes, “Good thing there’s plenty of food here. Keeps someone distracted.”

Another raven-haired guy with freckles, Ace, seemed to remember something and shouted, “Yeah! Lu, we should get some more food later!”

Luffy’s face lit up he punched his fists in the air above him, “Yosh!”

Marco, a guy with a head and hairstyle that looked like a pineapple sighed, “Make that two someone’s, yoi.” He held up two fingers, Sanji noticed the ring on his finger and his other arm wrapped around the freckled man.

Robin was giggling at the conversation, then asked, “Do you still work at the _Baratie_ , Sanji? Is that who catered?”

Nami answered before she could, “Sanji owns her own restaurant now, they’re who catered.”

Marco then asked her, seeming curious, “How old are you? If you don’t mind my asking. You just seem so young to have your own restaurant, yoi.”

Sanji was flattered that he said she looked young and smiled sweetly at him, “I’m twenty-six.”

“WOW!” Robin’s boyfriend, Franky shouted, “That is SUPER impressive!”

Sanji was blown away by the guy’s enthusiasm and ridiculous pose, “Thank you, I actually opened it a couple years ago, though.”

“What’s the name of your restaurant?” Sabo asked her with interest.

“It’s the _All Blue_ , in Raftel,” she answered him proudly.

“Oi! Zoro lives in Raftel!” Usopp shouted.

Sanji found herself gazing at the marimo, he looked rather embarrassed as he grumbled, “What’re you all looking at?”

Nami had a sly smile, “Oh yeah~!” Sanji could _not_ believe this was the same guy who owned the dojo in Raftel that Nami was telling her about. She had was trying to set her up with him as soon as she told her about what happened with Law. Nami was acting like she forgot all about this little fact as she asked, “Zoro, have you ever been to Sanji’s restaurant?”

Zoro was scowling at Nami as he answered, “No, I haven’t.”

His answer was a little surprising considering the dojo he owned was right next to her restaurant. Mostly, though, Sanji was wondering why Nami thought this guy would be interested in _her_.

This guy looked like a god. He was _horribly attractive_ and the fucking tuxedo he wore was obviously new, as if he never wore such a thing in his life and bought it just for the damn party. If he owned a dojo and was really the best in the word as they say, Sanji could only imagine what kind of body was hidden underneath.

Nami turned to her with a serious look in her eyes, but the way she said her words was meant to tease, “You know~, Zoro couldn’t stop staring at you while you were singing, Sanji. He didn’t even realize we filled his drink with water.”

_What?! Nami… Is this for real?_

Sanji turned her gaze to Zoro as he took a drink from the glass in his hand. It must have been alcohol originally because he cursed under his breath and scowled, “Shit.”

The whole thing made her burst out laughing. She found his reaction to Nami’s teasing absolutely endearing. He was so embarrassed, but Sanji had the feeling he wasn’t the type of guy to get embarrassed. It was funny to her that such a _painfully_ attractive man could be acting like this because of her. The marimo was in a league of his own, there was no fucking way… This had to be a joke.

_But—Nami said he’s perpetually single. So, what does that mean? That he doesn’t date or have girlfriends? Or maybe he only hooks up? Fuck, I really hope not… Shit, this is ridiculous, I need to get my shit together._

She forced herself to stop laughing at this fucked up situation, all thanks to the bride-to-be. Sanji was feeling rather amused when she saw the marimo had been staring at her and questioned him teasingly, “Is that so~?”

Although the guy was sitting down, so she couldn’t tell how tall he was, Sanji really had never seen a guy who was so _her type_. The man was thick with what could only be muscle from head to toe. Sanji would much rather have met him at the beach so she could _really_ appreciate what this man had to offer. But there were much more pressing matters, “So, you’re here without a date.”

He didn’t answer her with words, just like she thought he would do. Instead he waved his hand to demonstrate he was here alone.

“Huh, I didn’t bring a date either,” Sanji tried to be indifferent as she gestured to the drink in his hand, “Would you like to get another drink with me?”

When he stood up from his chair, it scraped against the floor as if he made a quick decision. Sanji heard the red head chuckling, but Zoro seemed to pay him no mind. When his gray eye met her blue one he answered, “Sure,” with a low, sexy voice and Sanji’s heart began to pound.

She smirked at him, took a step closer and linked her arm with his and placed her hand on his forearm. Sanji walked beside him happily, through the tuxedo jacket, she could feel the hard muscles underneath.

_Fuck, he is really buff. He is like, three times my size. A good bit taller than me too, even with my heels on. Thank Zeff for teaching me how to fight, otherwise I would not feel comfortable being alone with a man like this._

Once they walked up to the bar, the bartender must have recognized Zoro, but did not look happy to see him again. He pulled a bottle of sake from behind the bar and handed it to him before either of them exchanged a single word.

Sanji thought it was absolutely hilarious and began to laugh loudly, “What the hell?! Is that _all_ for you?!”

Zoro looked a little embarrassed, “I dunno…” he paused and asked her, “You drink sake?”

She was amused that he offered to share and raised her eyebrow, but ultimately, she refused the offer, “Not a whole _bottle._ ” Sanji then turned to the bartender, “Could I please have a glass of the Cabernet sauvignon?” They nodded and poured her a glass of red wine.

The first sip of wine was always her favorite, to have that first rush of flavor. She brought the glass to her lips and closed her eyes in contentment. After licking her lips clean of any lingering wine, Sanji opened her eyes and observed the man beside her.

In all honesty, Sanji had never seen a more handsome man in her life. He was stoic, almost statuesque—and it wasn’t _just_ because he looked like he was carved from stone—but also in his movements. So practiced as he opened the bottle of sake he had been given by the bartender, not even caring to use a glass and took it straight from the bottle. The sight of it reminded Sanji of someone gulping down water after a long run. She could see from the way he carried himself, he was proud and sure of himself, cocky. Probably a _complete_ and _total_ asshole, but damnit, Sanji couldn’t help herself. Everything about him was attractive, she could stare at him all day long and observe the way he moved.

He seemed to notice she was looking at him, because he narrowed his eyes at her, “What?”

As she took another sip of wine, she rolled her eyes, “You don’t talk much.”

She didn’t mean it to be an insult, but that’s what he seemed to take it as because he looked angry and _grunted_ at her as a response.

“Geez, what are you? A Neanderthal who walked into a tuxedo shop? Because that’s what you look like,” Sanji was admittedly, glaring at the man. She usually was so polite and sweet to men—but fuck! The marimo—he was uncivilized.

He mumbled, “That’s what I feel like.”

Sanji turned to him in amusement, “Oh my god, it _can_ talk!”

Zoro was then glaring at _her._

She cocked her eyebrow, he certainly was entertaining if nothing else. The way he reacted to everything she did, her flirting was having the desired effect. Sanji teasingly asked him, “So~ what does this _caveman_ do when he isn’t playing dress-up?” She knowingly, popped the ‘p’ and watched with delight as the man shivered.

He seemed to return to normal in a split second, but Sanji knew what she saw. He rolled his eye and answered, “I am a swordsman.”

“Ahhh,” Sanji nodded her head, she already knew this, “I remember Nami saying something about that.”

The look he had on his face was priceless, it was as if Nami had some incriminating information on him, which knowing Nami, she probably did. He hesitantly asked, “What did she say?”

Sanji didn’t remember much about him from any stories Nami told her years ago—other than him getting lost all the time—there was just one thing that was important right now. She spoke very seriously, “You run the dojo in Raftel.”

His silence spoke volumes, his silence said more than words could. It told her that yes, it was true. It told her that he knew _exactly_ what was next to that dojo. And most importantly, it told her that he wasn’t kidding when he said he had never been to her restaurant before.

After she couldn’t bare the silence anymore, Sanji asked, “Why have you never been to my restaurant?”

“To _All Blue_?” He shook his head and had a cocky smirk on his face as he said, “It’s not really my style.”

His words pissed her off, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He seemed to find her irritation _amusing_ and retorted, “Do I really seem like the type of guy who’d go to such a snobby restaurant?”

_If working in a snobby restaurant has taught me anything, it is how to deal with assholes like him in a civilized way._

Sanji gave him a small smile, “Well, you don’t need to come eat the delicious food I cook at my _snobby_ restaurant. You can eat it right here,” then she gestured to her right, where the food was.

Zoro rolled his eye before saying, “Didn’t look delicious to me.”

_Alright, that’s it!_

Sanji furrowed her eyebrows and shouted at him, “Fucking _asshole!_ My cooking is incredible!”

He had the audacity to look _amused!_ He had that same _cocky_ smirk on his face as he told her, “You’re a shit cook.”

If Sanji thought she lost it before, that was nothing. She _never_ had been told such a thing in her life! She needed to hit him where it hurts, and she didn’t mean his balls. No, instead Sanji threateningly asked him, “What’d you call me, shitty swordsman?”

 _That_ got rid of his irritating grin as Zoro began to scowl at her. She waited for him to say something back, but he never did. Instead he took a swig of his sake, Sanji still kept her eye on him.

Sanji kind of enjoyed their banter, there was something oddly familiar about it. Her chest tightened at the thought, it felt as if she was being drawn to him. She couldn’t deny that there was a part of her that really hoped he felt this way too.

_But that’s just foolish and silly! We don’t even know each other—not really! But why do I feel so… Complete?_

Sanji began to laugh, “Oh, you are _way_ too much fun.”

He appeared to be confused, surprised maybe by what she said, and he shook his head, “I can’t tell if you are being sarcastic or being a bitch.”

It wasn’t a bad thing to be fun, maybe it was just a little dangerous… Sanji smirked at him, “Who knows, maybe both, maybe neither.” She really couldn’t resist teasing this man and was batting her eyelashes at him while she took another sip of her wine.

Yes, definitely dangerous. Sanji couldn’t stop her teasing and slowly licked her lips and watched as he turned into a tomato—green top and all. But holy _fuck_ , it had been worth it, because he took off his tuxedo jacket and even rolled up the sleeves of the white button-up he had on underneath, exposing his forearms.

Sanji had never seen so many scars, nothing serious, but he definitely had needed stitches more than once in his life—hell probably more times than he could count. Still, he was certainly muscular and obviously strong. There was absolutely _nothing_ wrong with him appearance-wise, even with the scars that littered his body. The man was still gorgeous.

She was _dying_ to know the answer to the question that has been on her mind for the past half hour, “So, marimo~,” she started with a teasing tone, “Why’s a guy like you single?”

He really _was_ uncivilized. Zoro scowled at her question, “What the hell are you talking about?”

Sanji glared at him, unamused. She was unamused that for another time, she was looking at this man with such disgust when she would much rather be worshiping him. She was unamused that he didn’t answer her question. But she was mostly unamused with his stupidity, “I’m asking you why you’re single, dumbass,” she rolled her eyes.

_Fucking hell! What a moron! All beauty, no brains._

She turned back to him and he was still scowling at her, but he answered, “I’ve never been interested in a relationship like that.”

That wasn’t what she was expecting to hear, she didn’t know what she expected, but that wasn’t it. And the way he said it was just as curious—It was like he was embarrassed to tell her that.

Sanji was feeling rather confident. The smile on her face was full of lust as she asked him while looking into his gray eye, “Oh~? What about me?”

Zoro just glared at her and grumbled, “What about you?”

She stared back with determination, pat of her was desperate to know his answer. But Sanji realized he was stubborn, even more than herself, dare she say. So, she just shrugged.

It was obvious he was frustrated by her because he was gritting his teeth as he grumbled, “Why don’t you just leave me alone?”

His words stung a little more than she wanted to admit. She tried to not let it get to her and retorted, “If my company is so unpleasant, why haven’t you left and gone back to your friends yet?” Sanji gazed at him with a reserved smile, desperately hoping he wouldn’t leave. She raised her eyebrow and took another sip of her wine as she waited for an answer.

The only thing he did was slightly turn away from her before taking a long drink from the bottle of sake in his hand.

Seeing that, Sanji began to giggle, because despite his quiet and standoffish personality, he was oddly expressive.

As Sanji was still laughing at him, Zoro grumbled, “What’s so funny?”

She smiled at him, “ _You_ are, marimo.” Sanji shook her head and elaborated, “You’re _lots_ of things.”

Sanji watched Zoro’s throat bob as he gulped, “What kinds of things?”

_I wonder if he realizes he isn’t hiding a thing? He is so easy to read—It is so obvious he likes me. The marimo probably thinks he is hiding it. Fuck, he is too adorable when he blushes._

“Well~” Sanji smirked at him, “For one, you are stubborn,” he grunted.

_Caveman! How irritating… How uncivilized!_

As if to get back at him she sweetly added, “Also, you seem to be an alcoholic—no offence.”

Zoro scoffed at her, but Sanji wanted a _reaction_. So, she admitted, “You’re cute.”

He blinked at her as if he wasn’t expecting her to say that—which he probably wasn’t. Dumbfounded, he blubbered, “Wait, what?”

Sanji couldn’t hold it in any longer and laughed again, “Yeah, cute—like a marimo.”

The poor man looked like he was told something crazy, like the earth was flat. “Ehhh? You think marimos are cute?” He stared at her, looking positively jumbled.

She suddenly felt incredibly shy, “Well yeah, that’s why I call you that.”

_Fuck! How embarrassing! I can’t believe I told him that! Shit! Shit-shit-shit! What if this is a joke? I remember Nami telling stories of pranks her friends would pull. Oh, fuck… This is just my luck—the sexiest man alive (also most irritating)—pretends to be interested in me as some sick joke. Fuck, that is probably what’s happening…_

Then Zoro licked his lips and while gazing seriously into her eye told her, “Your eyebrow. I like it—It’s pretty.”

_Oh my god! This has got to be a joke! He isn’t serious. There is no way he thinks that. Don’t listen to him._

Despite what her mind was thinking, Sanji start to blush, she was feeling so damn embarrassed.  She shook her head, “I _hate_ them.”

He stared at her, confused, “ _Why?_ ”

She sighed, not _really_ wanting to talk about it, but did anyway, “Because~ they curl the same goddamn direction—making my face asymmetrical! That’s why I keep one eye covered, so people can’t see how weird they are.” By the time she finished, she knew she was pouting, but she didn’t care; Sanji was way too embarrassed by them.

Then Zoro smiled at her in a way that made her heart skip a beat and her breath hitch before he told her, “It just makes you unique—just like how I have green hair.”

Sanji really could not believe the man in front of her had said those word to her in the endearing way he had. It was far too much to handle, so she tried to ease the tension by teasing him, “The fact you have green hair _definitely_ makes you weird—like seriously, _why?_ ”

Just like that, he was back to scowling at her, “What? It’s my natural hair color! I can’t help it!”

Now, this was rather interesting to Sanji, “Are you _fucking_ serious?! Your hair is _naturally_ _green?_ ”

Zoro rolled his eye, “Yes, it is.”

She stared at his hair in a new way, but Sanji still wondered if it was soft. With a big smile, she teased him some more, “Aww~ that is so~ cute!”

He was now pouting and grumbled at her, “Quit calling me cute.”

“Okay, fine…marimo~” Sanji teased him with the nickname, it held a new meaning now that she told him why she called him that.

Neither of them spoke, they only continued to drink in each other’s company. Sanji felt at ease, as if they had known each other for longer than just tonight. If it wasn’t for the setting, Sanji would’ve been trying to get this guy to spend the night with her—or at the very least make out with him. But this was a classy engagement party, that type of thing would be inappropriate here.

Suddenly, Zoro broke the silence between them by asking her with wonder in his deep voice, “How’d you learn to sing like that, curly brow?”

_Oh my god… Did he seriously call me curly brow? He said he thinks they’re pretty, so is he calling me pretty?! I can’t handle this! I need to think about something else—think about what he asked me! Yes, singing… Think about singing, Sanji._

She was smiling fondly as she told him, “I’ve always loved to sing, since I was little. I like to sing while I cook, on the way to work in my car, in the shower…”

_Yes, marimo. Put that image into your moss-brain._

Sanji finished the last of her wine and put it simply, “I’ve never taken lessons or anything if that’s what you’re wondering.”

His gaze was on her mouth, Sanji could tell. After a moment he met her eye with his and nodded, “It was.”

The fact he didn’t try and argue with her about it made her smile. She remembered the way he reacted to Nami ratting him out earlier and wondered, “Were you really enjoying it so much that you mistook water for sake?”

“Tch,” he looked like he was going to talk-back, but he ended up sighing and scratched the back of his head, “Yeah, I guess I was.”

Sanji was smiling wider than she had in weeks. The man did that to her, maybe that was why she told him, “Well~, sometimes I sing at _All Blue_. You could always listen to me there, marimo.” When he turned to her with a twinkle in his gray eye, Sanji couldn’t handle it. So, she held up her hand to casually added, “Unless you can’t find the place.”

His jaw fucking _dropped_.

Sanji grinned, feeling pretty good about herself and teased, “The dress code is much more casual than this party. Standard: no shirt, no shoes, no service. Not _too_ snobby for a caveman.” She smirked at him, then left him alone.

*End Flashback*

On the employees only entrance, Sanji left the following note:

_Okay, shitheads._

_I lost my voice—probably from yelling at you all for screwing up!_

_I won’t be speaking to any of you until further notice._

_Do not push your luck._

_Just because I can’t_ say _anything, doesn’t mean I can’t_ do _anything._

_I’m wearing pants today._

_Sanji_

Her crew knew exactly what the implication was—when Sanji wore pants, she was ready to kick your ass if you fucked anything up.

The reason for the pants? Well, Sanji was a lady—sometimes—she wouldn’t do such a thing wearing a dress or skirt! Normally, she would just yell insults at them, but without her voice, she couldn’t so that.

Luckily, the day went off without a hitch. Only a few asses were kicked, there wasn’t anything major that happened for the majority of the day.

Then they received _his_ order. Sea king steak and onigiri.

Sanji’s heart skipped a beat, she couldn’t understand what he was doing here for the third night in a row. Unless…

_He probably wants to hear me sing again. Well, too bad, asshole. I can’t talk, let alone sing! There is no fucking way I’m going out there. I’ll cook his food, but It’s not like I could talk to him even if I wanted to._

So that is exactly what she did. Sanji made his food and continued on with the night.

When the night was over, she walked home and stopped at her spot to look out at the ocean. Her voice was already gone, she wasn’t going to smoke her cigarette today, it certainly wouldn’t help with her current situation.

That didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the view for a few minutes. She always thought of it as a metaphor for life. When there is nothing standing in your way, the possibilities were endless. If only real life was that simple. There was _always_ something in the way.

She turned away and walked to her apartment for the night. This was the worst part of her day, when she would have to force herself to return to that fucking apartment. One of these days she would have to go through everything and get rid of Law’s shit. But for today, she was too exhausted to even _think_ about completing _that_ task.

Instead of lingering on the past, Sanji’s mind was going crazy thinking about the possibilities for her future.

_I’m already twenty-six. I am an accomplished chef, own my own restaurant that has been successful. I should be happy. I shouldn’t feel so empty. I have so much going for me in life, but I can’t really enjoy any of it. I want something more. I want someone to spend every spare moment with. I want to start a family with someone—a family that loves and cares about each other. I always dreamed to start my own restaurant, be like Zeff—but more than that, I wanted to be like my mother. I miss that kind of relationship, one that would always be there to support you at your lowest. I have craved this kind of intimacy for so long. I need something more in my life to really feel content._

The next day went very much the same way. Sanji awoke in the middle of a dream involving the marimo. She still couldn’t speak though, so she wore pants to work. She ended up kicking a few of the asses that belonged to her crew for fucking shit up. Sloppy work was not allowed, not in her kitchen.

Shortly after six in the evening, there was the order for sea king steak and onigiri. She would be lying if she said her heart didn’t skip a beat knowing he was in her restaurant, again.

Sanji cooked his meal and wished she could talk to him, but alas, she still couldn’t use her voice.

Then she wondered what exactly she would even say to the marimo.

_Fuck! I can’t believe this! Why does he keep coming back? Does he just like the food? Is it because he is wanting me to sing again? Or could it be that maybe he is interested in me?_

She wished she could find out.

Oddly, the only thing she wanted to do once she got her voice back was talk to Zoro and find out what was really going on between them—or if anything was going on at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> First off, thank you all SOO MUCH for all the comments. I am very happy to hear people are enjoying the story.  
> As for the song lyrics, this chapter didn't have any, as I'm sure you all noticed. I wrote a lot of this story while listening to the music, so I intended for the songs to be listened to as the story is read because that is how I wrote it. I realize that it is kinda irritating to read through when you aren't actually listening to it. I'm not sure what I'll do for the next chapter, since I was planning on having more song lyrics (I have picked songs that I think reflect the way Sanji is feeling and feel like they show insight to her character) But anyway, I might just take the lines I particularly think Sanji relates to.  
> If you have any suggestions please continue to let me know! I appreciate your feedback so much, and I am so thrilled that you are enjoying the story thus far!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	5. Thank god, it's Friday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
> 
> This chapter has song lyrics as usual, but future chapters will not be having nearly as many lyrics, if any at all.

For the next few days, Zoro had returned to _All Blue_ for dinner. At first, he didn’t know why. He thought it was because of the food—Zoro craved Sanji’s cooking ever since he first tried it.

When he showed up on Wednesday and ate his food, he had expected to see the musicians come out and perform like the previous two days.

But that didn’t happen. Zoro even stayed until the restaurant closed in hopes that it might happen later.

The same thing happened on Thursday. He showed up for dinner and waited all night with the hope of seeing Sanji again.

The damn woman was constantly on his mind.

He realized that every time he came, he was eagerly waiting for her to come out of the kitchen and sing. Even if she would’ve come out of the damn kitchen he would’ve be content, but no~.

Instead, Zoro would eat the most delicious food he had ever tasted, alone—while the woman who presumably made his meal would run through his thoughts during every hour of the day.

Honestly, it was distracting. He couldn’t focus on anything for longer than five minutes before his mind would begin to wander back to the blonde cook. Zoro tried to meditate, clear his thoughts, but every time he tried he would _always_ end up thinking about her again.

Today was Friday; it had been a week since he met her and Zoro had learned three things. First, although Sanji looks and sings like an angel, she is _anything_ but. Second, Sanji was the single-handedly the _most_ irritating and frustrating woman he had ever met. And third, he _desperately_ wanted to spend more time with her.

This last thing was what Zoro found the most confusing. It actually was beginning to irritate the shit out of him that the past _two days_ he came here, she still was nowhere to be seen. But he _knew_ she was here, because he could tell by the food—it was just as good as it had been the first day he visited.

Zoro even ordered the same thing every night he visited. Although, he wasn’t sure if it was because he liked the sea king steak and onigiris so much the first time or if it was because he hoped Sanji would know it was for him and come out of the kitchen to be with him.

The fact he wanted to see her and spend time with her was weird for Zoro to admit to himself. Mostly because he had never wanted to be around someone so much before, not even his nakama. He was used to being a loner, he wasn’t the type of guy who went out every night to be around people. Zoro had gone to that engagement party—that was enough socializing for the next few months! Yet, he realized that the whole reason he kept going back to her restaurant, day after day, was because he wanted to be close to her. He _ached_ to see her, to be around her again. That’s why it was so frustrating that she never showed herself.

As he was eating his dinner and drinking his bottle of sake, the musicians came out onto the stage. Zoro started grinning and glanced around the room until he spotted Sanji walking up in a pale blue dress that showed off her legs. Unfortunately, many of the other men in the restaurant were also watching her and quite frankly, it pissed Zoro off.

Music began to play and Sanji swayed her hips until she began to sing. (“…Baby One More Time” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

 _Oh baby, baby_  
How was I supposed to know  
That something wasn't right here?  
Oh pretty, baby  
I shouldn't have let you go  
And now you're out of sight, yeah  
  
So show me how you want it to be  
Tell me, baby, cause I need to know now, oh, because  
My loneliness is killing me  
And I, I must confess I still believe  
When I'm not with you, I lose my mind  
Give me a sign  
Hit me baby one more time  
  


The music filled the room and Sanji had all eyes on her as she casually moved to the beat.

 __  
Oh baby, baby  
The reason I breathe is you  
Boy, you got me blinded  
Oh, pretty baby  
There's nothing that I wouldn't do  
It's not the way I planned it  
  
So show me how you want it to be  
Tell me, baby, cause I need to know now, oh, because  
  
My loneliness is killing me  
And I, I must confess I still believe, still believe  
When I'm not with you, I lose my mind  
Give me a sign  
Hit me baby one more time  
  
Zoro oddly liked the song, it wasn’t sad like the ones from the other days. Hopeful was a better way to describe it, but it didn’t matter. All that he cared about was that Sanji was in the same room as him and he was able to watch her as she sang.

 __  
Oh baby, baby, how was I supposed to know?  
Oh, pretty baby, I shouldn't have let you go, go, go  
  
I must confess, that my loneliness is killing me now  
Don't you know I still believe  
That you will be here  
And give me a sign  
  


The afroed man played his violin beside Sanji on stage, but Zoro was still watching Sanji as she closed her eye and gently swayed to the tune. __  
  
When I'm not with you, I lose my mind  
Give me a sign  
I must confess, that my loneliness is killing me now  
So give me a sign  
So hit me baby one more time

When the crowd applauded, Zoro was rather distracted, thinking about the song itself. It was _nothing_ like the songs she sang before. But before he could give it more thought, the next song started. (“Bad Romance” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

_Ohh, Ohh, Caught in a bad romance_

_I want your ugly, I want your disease_

_I want your everything as long as it’s free_

_I want your love_

_Love, love, love_

_I want your love_

_I want the drama and the touch of your hand_

_I want your leather studded kissin’ in the sand_

_I want your love_

_Love, love, love_

_I want your love_

_You know that I want you_

_And you know that I need you_

_I want your bad, your bad romance_

_I want your love_

_I want your revenge_

_You and me, could write a bad romance_

_I want your lovin’_

_All your lover’s revenge_

_You and me, could write a bad romance_

_Ohh, oh, caught in a bad romance_

_Ohh, oh, caught in a bad romance, hey!_

_Ah-ah, oo-la-la, Oh ma, ro-ma-ma_

_Ah-ah, oo-la-la, want your bad romance_

_I want your horror_

_I want your design_

_‘Cause you’re a criminal_

_As long as you’re mine_

_I want your love_

_Love, love, love_

_I want your love, yeah_

_I want your psycho, your vertigo stick_

_Want you in my rear window_

_You that you’re sick_

_I want your love_

_Love, love, love_

_I want your love!_

_I want your love_

_I want your revenge_

_You and me, could write a bad romance_

_I want your lovin’_

_All your lover’s revenge_

_You and me, could write a bad romance, hey!_

Sanji danced to the song, shaking her hips in a _very_ enticing way. It was driving Zoro crazy—especially since he hadn’t seen her for the past couple days. These songs were like confessions, she was singing about wanting to be with someone.

 

_I want your love_

_I want your revenge_

_I want your love_

_I don’t wanna be friends_

_I don’t want to be friends_

_I don’t wanna be friends_

_I don’t want to be friends_

_Want your bad romance_

_Want your bad romance!_

_Let’s start a bad romance_

_I want your love_

_I want your revenge_

_You and me, could write a bad romance_

_Ohh, oh caught in a bad romance_

_Ohh, oh caught in a bad romance_

_Ooo, Ooo, Ooo, Ooo, Ooo_

Zoro’s throat felt dry, so he took a large drink of his sake. He realized he wasn’t finished with his food yet and remembered how Sanji scolded him the other day, saying it would be cold, so he continued to eat as the next song began. (“Straight Up” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

 _Lost in a dream_  
I don't know which way to go  
And if you are all that you seem  
Well baby, I'm movin' way too slow  
  
I've been a fool before  
Wouldn't like to get my love caught  
In the slammin' door  
How about some information, please?  
  
Straight up now, tell me  
Are you really gonna love me forever, oh, oh, oh  
Or am I caught in a hit-and-run?  
Straight up now, tell me  
Is it gonna be you and me together, oh, oh, oh  
Or are you just havin' fun?  
  
Time's standing still  
Waiting for some small clue  
I-I-I-I-I keep getting chills  
When I think, when I think your love is true  
  
I've been a fool before  
Wouldn't like to get my love caught  
In the slammin' door  
How about some information, please?  
  
Straight up now, tell me  
Are you really gonna love me forever, oh, oh, oh  
Or am I caught in a hit-and-run?  
Straight up now, tell me  
Is it gonna be you and me together, oh, oh, oh  
Or are you just havin' fun?  
  
Sanji danced on stage and Zoro was captivated by her movements, her voice, and the words she sang. It was all so different from the songs she sang earlier in the week. He liked these songs much more—they weren’t sad, they weren’t depressing—they were about being met half-way.

_Do, do you love me?  
Do you love me, baby?_

_I've been a fool before_  
Wouldn't like to get my love  
Caught in the slammin' door  
Are you more than hot for me  
Or am I just a page in your history?  
I don't mean to make demands  
But the word and the deed go hand in hand  
How about some information, please?  
  
Straight up now, tell me  
Are you really gonna love me forever, oh, oh, oh  
Or am I caught in a hit-and-run?  
Straight up now, tell me  
Is it gonna be you and me together, oh, oh, oh  
Or are you just havin' fun?

 _Straight up now, tell me_  
Do you really wanna love me forever  
Or am I caught in a hit-and-run?  
Straight up now, tell me  
Is it gonna be you and me together  
Or are you just havin' fun?

_Straight up!_

When the song ended Zoro felt like he had the wind knocked out of him. Sanji sang with so much passion and emotion, he could _feel_ it. She never held back, he admired her courage, to be able to sing like that was not something he could ever do, she had guts and confidence. The next song was slower and made Zoro’s heart pound as he listened. (“I Want You to Want Me” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

 _I want you to want me_  
I need you to need me  
I'd love you to love me  
I'm beggin' you to beg me  
Oh I want you to want me  
Ohh, I need you to need me  
I’m beggin’ you, I’m beggin’ you to beg me

 _Oh, I'd shine up my old brown shoes_  
Put on a brand-new shirt  
I'll get home early from work  
If you say, if you say that you love me

 _Ohh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'?_  
Ohh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'?  
Oh, feelin' all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dyin'  
Ohh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'?

 _  
I want you to want me  
I nee_ _d you to need me_  
Oh I'd love you to love me  
Oh I'm beggin' you, oh I’m beggin’ you to beg me

 _Oh, I'd shine up my old brown shoes_  
I’d put on a brand-new shirt  
I'd get home early from work  
If you say, If you say, If you say!

 _Oh, you’re never gonna cry with me around, Ohh_  
Oh, feelin' all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dyin', hey!  
Ohh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'?

The music continued and Sanji swayed along with a small smile on her face. The sight of it took Zoro’s breath away. She looked so calm, but the way she made Zoro feel was crazy and hectic.

 __  
I want you to want me  
I need you to need me  
Oh, I'd love you to love me  
I'm beggin' you to beg me  
I want you to want me

When the song ended Zoro’s heart was still pounding in his chest. He was finished eating his food, so he sat back and watched her move to the beat of the next song before she started to sing. (“Bad At Love” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

 _Got a boy back home in Michigan_  
And he tastes like Jack when I'm kissing him  
Told him that I never really liked his friends  
But he's gone and he's calling me a – again  
Got a guy that lives in the garden state  
Told me that we'd make it 'til we graduate  
But I told him that the music will be worth the wait  
He wants me in the kitchen with a dinner plate  
  
I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe we're in too deep  
But jealousy, jealousy, you know it gets the best of me

 _I don't mean to frustrate, but I_  
Always make the same mistakes  
Always made the same mistakes!  
  
I'm bad at love, ooh!  
You can't blame me for tryin'  
You know I'd be lyin' sayin'  
You’re the one, ooh  
That could finally fix me  
I’ve been lookin' at my history  
I'm bad at love

As he listened to her, Zoro wondered if she was singing these songs for him. The moment the thought crossed his mind, his chest felt tight and he had to remember to breathe.

 __  
Got a girl with California eyes  
Thought that she could really be the one this time  
I never got the chance to make her mine  
Because she fell in love with little thin white lines  
London girl with an attitude  
Never told no one, but we look so cute  
Both got way better things to do  
But I always think about her when I'm riding through  
  
I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe we’re in too deep  
Jealousy, jealousy you know it gets the best in me, yeah  


_I don't mean to frustrate, but I_  
Always made the same mistakes  
Always made the same mistakes  
  
I'm bad at love, ooh  
You can't blame me for tryin'  
You know I'd be lyin' sayin'  
You’re the one, ooh  
That could finally fix me  
I’ve been lookin' at my history  
I'm bad   
  
I know that you're afraid 

_I'm gonna walk away_  
Each time the feeling fades  
Each time the feeling fades  
I know that you're afraid 

_I'm gonna walk away  
Each time the feeling fades_

Sanji’s eye was closed as she passionately sang, Zoro was blown away by the intensity of her voice. Every word hit him square in his chest, _knew_ she was singing to him. It made him feel dizzy.

 __  
I'm bad at love, ooh  
You can't blame me for tryin'  
You know I'd be lyin' sayin'  
You’re the one, ooh  
That could finally fix me  
I’ve been lookin' at my history  
I'm bad at love, ooh  
  
You know, you know, you know  
I'm bad at love, yeah  
You could finally fix me  
I’ve been lookin' at my history  
I'm bad at love, ooh  
I'm bad at love 

The strange fluttery feeling was in Zoro’s stomach as the song ended. For the life of him, he could not understand why she could make him feel like this. Earlier he had been mad that she ignored him when he visited the past couple days, but he completely forgot about that when she started to sing. And to think she might have been singing these songs for _him._

He was in a daze as he drank his sake, trying to get rid of the strange feeling in his stomach when Sanji sauntered up to him. Without any hesitation, she sat down across from him and held her chin on her hand as she rested her elbow on the table.

Having her sitting across from him staring at him with that smirk on her sexy lips certainly wasn’t helping him feel normal. Zoro grumbled under his breath, “Can I help you, curly brow?”

Sanji rolled her blue eye, “Nice to see you too, marimo. I see you’re still the same.”

He scowled at her, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, you know…” A devilish grin became her expression as she leaned forward to whisper, “Frustrated.”

Zoro furrowed his eyebrows at her and leaned forward but stayed quiet. He gazed into her blue eye, looking for some type of answer to his troubles.

They found themselves in a compromising situation as their faces were dangerously close, only inches apart, Zoro could feel Sanji’s hot breath against his face. He glanced down at her mouth and found himself licking his lips. When he glanced back up to Sanji’s blue eye, she looked vulnerable—something that he wasn’t sure how to handle—and Zoro snapped out of whatever _this_ was.

He leaned back in his seat and shook his head, “Umm,” he cleared his throat, turned away, and finished off his bottle of sake. Zoro caught a few people staring at them and he felt his cheeks heat up.

Then he felt something soft on his hand. When he looked down to the table, he saw Sanji’s pale hand on his tanned one. He met her gaze and she smiled sweetly, “Would you like to get out of here?” The tone in her voice seemed to promise it would be worth it, and without any second thoughts Zoro found himself nodding in agreement.

They stood from the table and Zoro left money to cover his bill. Sanji held on to his arm like she did the night they met before she led them through the restaurant to a back door that led to an alleyway.

Truthfully, Zoro had absolutely no idea where they were going, but he felt a strange warmth in his chest as he walked beside her. For the past couple days he had felt miserable not being able to see her, so this was nice. It felt comfortable, Zoro felt at ease and content with Sanji on his arm.

They ended up walking down the block to a spot that overlooked the ocean. Sanji leaned against the railing of the cliff as she looked out towards the setting sun on the horizon. Zoro stood beside her and leaned against the railing but kept his eye on her, not wanting to miss out on the view.

_Fuck. She is… Stunning. My memory really didn’t do her justice. She is far more beautiful than anything I could imagine. She is so fucking perfect, like a doll. But Sanji is a real person with feelings. She shows more passion and emotions with her curly eyebrow than I do with my whole body. But being around her makes me feel things I never have before, she makes me nervous and feel…terrified. I hated these past two days, I hated missing out on this—seeing her smile like this, looking so goddamn gorgeous._

Sanji ended up breaking the silence between them, “I like to come here to watch the sunset after work.” She was smiling as she spoke, “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.”

Zoro scoffed, “That’s only ‘cause you can’t see yourself right now.”

She turned to him in what appeared to be disbelief, “What?”

Grinning at her, Zoro confessed, “The way you look right now is the most beautiful thing I have _ever_ seen.”

Sanji’s cheeks turned pink and she looked back out to the sunset, “Quit saying shit like that, marimo. It’s not like you.”

Still grinning, he shrugged, “It’s true.”

That made her blush deepen, “Do you even know what you’re saying?”

Zoro cocked his eyebrow, “Of course I do.”

_I think she is beautiful._

Sanji turned to him, irritated, “Geez, you really are an idiot.”

“What’s the problem, curly brow?” Zoro snickered, “It’s not so fun when _you’re_ the one who’s frustrated.”

That earned him a scowl that could kill any lesser man, “Well, _yeah_! You are a frustrating _asshole_!”

Despite the insults she threw at him, Zoro grin widened. He loved seeing her get flustered like this, “Oh, come on, now. You don’t really mean that, do you?”

If looks could kill, Zoro would be dead. Sanji was fuming with anger as she spat, “Oh, I _meant_ it. I know better than to say something I don’t mean.”

“Huh?” That caught Zoro off guard, “Are you saying _I did?_ ”

Sanji rolled her eye and scoffed, “Obviously.”

Zoro stood beside her in defiance, he didn’t understand what he did wrong. He didn’t understand any of this, whatever _this_ was.

_What the hell did I do now? What the fuck does this woman want from me? What did I do to make her think I would say something I didn’t mean? FUCK! Why the hell do I care so much?!_

The silence between them was deafening. Zoro didn’t know what to do to fix things, he was tired of thinking about what was going on between them. All he knew was he didn’t know what to do about the feelings he was having. He just stared at the woman beside him and asked her the first thing that came to his mind, “Why did you sing those songs?”

When she turned to look at him, there was a slight frown on her lips, “Look,” she closed her eye, “I’ve been hurt and fucked over too many times, so I don’t want to get my hopes up too high.” Sanji sighed, “It doesn’t matter,” she shook her head then turned away, so Zoro couldn’t see her face.

Her words felt like a knife cutting into his chest. He hated the idea of this woman hurting and suffering. He hated seeing her look defeated, like she might never smile again. Still, Zoro urged, “Answer the question.”

Sanji muttered, “I think you already know why.”

Zoro stared at her, desperate to see the look in her eye, but Sanji wouldn’t meet his gaze. This whole situation bothered him, made him nervous. He took a step closer, so their bodies were nearly touching, and he gently tilted her chin upward, so she would look at him.

When their eyes met, Zoro saw how much pain Sanji was holding inside. He frowned when he saw the corners of her own mouth were turned down.

He was so tired of thinking and trying to understand the way she made him feel. So, he stopped thinking so hard and acted on instinct alone. That’s when Zoro wrapped his other arm around her waist and pressed his lips to hers, giving in to what his body wanted him to do.

Once they kissed, everything made sense.

Zoro was no longer confused about what he felt for Sanji. Nothing was confusing anymore, she was clinging to his body and kissing him back. Everything felt _right_ and Zoro knew this was what Sanji had been wanting from him, probably from the beginning.

He caressed her soft face with his rough hands, tilting her head back as he pulled her body closer to his. Zoro opened his mouth against hers and licked her lips, earning a gasp from Sanji. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he pushed his tongue into her open mouth; her taste alone made him moan in satisfaction.

Sanji began to suck on his tongue with vigor as she raked her fingers through his hair. When she released it, she fought back and pushed her tongue into his own mouth. One of her hands made its way down his neck to the front of his chest, gently caressing his hard muscles beneath the thin fabric of his shirt. When her hand tugged on the top of his jeans, Zoro gasped and their lips broke apart.

_Holy shit!_

They were both panting, when Zoro opened his eye, he saw that Sanji’s lips were swollen and her lipstick was smeared. He smirked at the sight, “Damn, you look gorgeous.”

Her cheeks became flushed as she smiled up at him through her dark lashes, “Shut up and kiss me, marimo.”

Zoro didn’t like being ordered around, but he was _very_ eager to do as Sanji told him. He grinned at her and brought his lips back to hers for a soft, gentle kiss. Then sucked on her lower lip, loving the plumpness, until she began to moan.

The sound seemed to go straight to his dick, because he immediately started getting an erection. He released her lip with a groan, “Fuck, Sanji…”

Her body shook in his arms, so Zoro held her tighter against his chest. Gazing into her blue eye, he had the strong desire to take her home with him and find all the ways he could to make her moan like that.

Suddenly, she looked away and her cheeks turned pink, “Umm, I should be getting back…”

“Oh,” Zoro reluctantly let her go. When her body was no longer in his grasp he frowned, it didn’t feel right.

Sanji took his hand, “I’ll walk you back,” then she smirked devilishly, “Don’t want you getting lost.”

Zoro rolled his eye at her comment, but he found himself blushing from holding her hand. He had to admit it felt nice, having her hand in his. Hell, it felt _more_ than just ‘nice,’ it felt like it fucking _belonged_ there.

They walked back to _All Blue,_ and when they were outside in the alleyway, Sanji turned to him with a nervous look.

If he was going to sleep tonight he needed to know, “Will I see you tomorrow?”

She batted her dark eyelashes with a blank expression for a moment, before smirking, “Why? Did you miss me, marimo?”

Zoro glared at her, then tugged on her hand and pulled her in for another kiss. It was brief and held a silent promise for more, because if there was one thing Zoro knew for certain, it was that he wanted to kiss Sanji again.

When he pulled away, Sanji’s cheeks were flushed and her usual fancy up-do was messy from Zoro holding the back of her head. He felt proud and smiled at the sight.

She cleared her throat, opened the backdoor they exited from earlier, but before disappearing, Sanji turned to him with a sly smile on her swollen lips, “See you tomorrow, Zoro.” Then she walked back into her restaurant, leaving him speechless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Thank you, thank you, thank you!  
> All your comments are very much appreciated and I love to hear what all you wonderful readers think of the story.  
> I am one of those writers who lives and breathes for feedback, so please, pretty please, keep giving it to me! Even if it is 'bad' it really isn't, because it let's me know what you as readers prefer to read.  
> I would like to apologize, because I said last chapter notes that I was going to change up the way I added lyrics, but I actually didn't. That being said, I am not planning on doing it any longer. The reason I had song lyrics was because I wrote it as I listened to the music, and because I wanted to use songs that reflected what was going on in the story/Sanji's love life.  
> Anywayyy... I think the next chapter will be in Sanji's perspective again, unless someone ends up telling me they hated the last chapter that was in Sanji's POV...  
> Whatever, I know you will all love it anyway.
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	6. What Sanji Really Thinks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
> 
> This chapter is once again in Sanji's POV. 
> 
> There is masturbation in this chapter.
> 
> Hope you enjoy, for more of my comments, read until the end.

Closing the door of her office behind her, Sanji made her way to her desk chair and took a seat. Absentmindedly, she touched her lips, still swollen from kissing the marimo. Remembering the way his body felt against hers made Sanji’s lady muscles tighten.

_Shit! This is bad! Fuck me… Honestly, though—I totally want Zoro to fuck me… UGHHH! NO! Sanji, listen to yourself. This is exactly why you had to leave. You can’t just sleep with him! At least not so soon, not tonight. You can’t think straight around him! That’s why you had to get away—one more minute and you would’ve jumped his bones. This is why you left your things in your office, so you wouldn’t go home with him._

She groaned loudly and rested her head on her arms as she leaned over her desk. The whole day she had been wondering what would end up happening between them. Tonight had gone so much better than she could’ve ever _dreamed._ So much so, that Sanji felt like it couldn’t _possibly_ be true.

Let’s recap, shall we? Well, for the past week she had been shamelessly seducing the marimo, who seemed to be too dumb to realize what she was doing or else he was gay. It became clear rather quickly that he was just a moron and didn’t have a damn clue how to take a fucking hint. She knew he wasn’t gay because Sanji could tell the difference between a gay man admiring her outfit and when a _man_ was checking her out and enjoyed the view. Zoro fell into the second group and if Sanji was _anything_ she was stubborn. And tonight all her hard work paid off.

When Sanji first woke up that morning, she could tell it was going to be a good day. Maybe it was because she had her voice back, maybe it was because she felt well-rested, maybe it was just because it was fated to be.

Anyway, she _knew_ the marimo would be coming back to her restaurant for dinner. Since he seemed to like her singing so much she deliberately picked songs to tell him how she felt and what she wanted. After getting dangerously close to kissing in the middle of her restaurant and seeing how uncomfortable the marimo was, she asked if he wanted to leave.

*Flashback*

Walking beside the marimo was exhilarating. He was clearly a proud man, he showed it in everything he did. As they walked out of her restaurant, Sanji had her arm linked with his and it made her feel like he was proud to have _her_ there, by his side. She saw it in the way he straightened his back and looked ahead with a cocky grin.

Once outside, she could feel the heat rolling off his body as he walked alongside her. It wasn’t cold, but Sanji still cozied herself up next to him as if she was. It didn’t even feel strange, it felt like they walked like that _all the time._ Something in her chest felt constricted, there was still a voice in the back of her mind nagging and reminding her of the reality of her situation. After she told Zoro how she felt, he could reject her.

Despite this, Sanji ended up bringing him to her special spot. It was the perfect time of day, when he sun was setting; the sky was filled with color and the water was glistening with the reflection of light across the ocean’s choppy surface. She leaned against the railing and gazed out at the horizon.

_Wow…this view never gets old. Ever since Zeff and I stopped here on the way to East Blue City. Fuck, that was a long time ago—twenty years… Still, there is nothing more beautiful than the open ocean. The possibilities are endless, just like the horizon and colors displayed across it. It’s hard to believe that this same horizon was once all shades of blue—not when there is every color of the rainbow. I’ve done my fair share of travelling and this view is still my favorite._

Sanji felt like she needed to say something. Not because the silence that lingered between them was uncomfortable—it oddly was—but because she knew he would stay silent forever if he could. She explained why they were there, “I like to come here to watch the sunset after work.” Sanji was smiling in awe as she confessed, “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.”

Zoro scoffed, “That’s only ‘cause you can’t see yourself right now.”

“What?” There was no way in hell the marimo knew what he was implying.

The way he was grinning at her pissed her off, “The way you look right now is the most beautiful thing I have _ever_ seen.”

_HA! What a load of bullshit. The marimo was just trying some pathetic pick-up line. I am not so naïve to fall for some cheap line like that. Damn moss-brain probably doesn’t think I’ve heard that kind of shit before. That’s just an easy way to get a girl to swoon, it doesn’t mean anything. There isn’t any thought put into saying something like that._

She was feeling angry and felt her face get hot, she couldn’t even look at him, so Sanji turned back out to the sunset, “Quit saying shit like that, marimo. It’s not like you.”

The next thing he said pissed her off even further, “It’s true.”

Feeling like she was about to explode she asked him, “Do you even know what you’re saying?”

Then in his stupid ‘obviously voice,’ Zoro answered, “Of course I do.”

Finally, unable to contain her irritation any longer, she turned to him to say, “Geez, you really are an idiot.”

_But damn, the marimo sure is one SEXY idiot. Why the fuck does he have to be so breathtakingly handsome? When he smiles like that, it makes my chest tight, my throat feels dry, I practically faint from blood-loss, luckily my nose isn’t bleeding. A man who is so goddamn gorgeous HE should be carved into marble, could not possibly think I am beautiful._

“What’s the problem, curly brow?” Zoro was fucking _laughing_ at her, “It’s not so fun when _you’re_ the one who’s frustrated.”

If the marimo was not so beautiful, Sanji wouldn’t killed him right then and there, “Well, _yeah_! You are a frustrating _asshole_!”

He had the audacity to smile at her and tease, “Oh, come on, now. You don’t really mean that, do you?”

Just when she thought her buttons couldn’t be pushed any further, the marimo would hit a sore spot. “Oh, I _meant_ it. I know better than to say something I don’t mean.”

“Huh?” The bastard stared back at her as if she had accused him of murdering puppies, “Are you saying _I did?_ ”

She rolled her eyes, unamused with their whole conversation, “Obviously.”

After a silence that seemed to last for an eternity, Zoro asked her, “Why did you sing those songs?”

_Is he seriously asking me why I had sung those songs? Fuck—what an idiot. He comes to my restaurant every goddamn day for an entire week and doesn’t know I was singing for him. Fucking moss-brained dumbass is what he is._

She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t disappointed he had to ask, “Look.” She had turned to face him but needed to close her eyes in order to say the words, “I’ve been hurt and fucked over too many times, so I don’t want to get my hopes up too high.” Sanji sighed, “It doesn’t matter,” she always got her hopes up too high. She shook her head and turned away, unable to face the inevitable rejection.

In a deep, commanding tone he told her, “Answer the question.”

There was no way she was going to spell it out for this idiot just to have him reject her. She only reminded him, “I think you already know why.”

Sanji’s heart was pounding in her chest, the silence between them felt suffocating. She already was preparing herself for whatever insult the marimo might toss at her. There was no way she was going to let him see just how much it would hurt her. She couldn’t face him, she couldn’t look at him, not when she was so vulnerable.

After he took a step closer, Sanji could feel the heat radiating from the marimo’s body. She stood completely frozen, feeling hyper-aware of how close he was. As she was staring at her hands clenching the railing in front of her, she felt his rough, calloused hand gently lift her chin to face him. Absolutely terrified, she met his gaze and waited for him to say what he wanted, to say he wasn’t interested.

For a moment, he did nothing, said nothing, only stared into her eye with his. And for the life of her, she could not look away. She felt so exposed and helpless beneath his gaze, under his touch. Zoro’s reservations seemed to crumble in an instant, his body language changed from irritated grumpiness to determined cockiness. Sanji felt his arm snake around her waist to pull her against his chest and then his mouth was on hers.

Once the marimo kissed her, Sanji forgot about all the frustration he had brought to her life. She forgot about every insult, every stupid grunt, every single irritating little thing about him until all that was left was the two of them kissing.

It felt so perfect, it was everything she had been _craving_. Her arms were around him in an instant, pulling herself against him, desperate to feel _all_ of him. As he tightened his arm around her waist, he held her cheek as if it was precious and deepened their kiss. Feeling his tongue slide across her lower lip made her gasp.

When Zoro’s tongue was inside her mouth and she heard him moan in pleasure, Sanji wanted to give him an idea of just how much pleasure she was willing to give him. She began sucking on his tongue as if it was the big cock that she felt against her stomach. Letting go of his tongue, she forced her own into his mouth and positively _devoured_ him. And finally having the chance, Sanji’s fingers found their way to his green hair and discovered it _was_ soft, _incredibly_ soft.

Her brain was turned off, her body was in control and the thing she wanted more than anything was to worship this man. Sanji’s right hand began to wander from the marimo’s hair to his thick, muscled neck, then down the center of his chest. The only thing separating her hand from his hard muscles was the soft fabric of his t-shirt. Once her fingers reached the top of his jeans, she tugged on the waistband and it made the marimo _gasp._ That was the first time their lips broke apart since they started kissing.

Never in her life did Sanji have such a breathtaking first kiss—literally. Because it left them both panting for air, it sounded almost as if they were in the middle of getting it on. She was overflowing with desire. Zoro still had his big, strong arms wrapped around her, holding her against his huge, muscled body.

Even though he was a rather large man and she a much smaller woman, being with him like this didn’t make her threatened or uncomfortable. This wasn’t just because Sanji knew how to take care of herself in a fight, this was because if she was afraid of _anything_ , it was _not_ being in his arms, not belonging in his arms. In all honesty, Sanji wanted to stay there forever.

When Sanji opened her eyes, she saw her lipstick had ended up all over his mouth. It was pretty satisfying to watch the marimo as he blinked his eye into focus, which ended up being on her. The damn smile he gave her should be criminal.

“Damn, you look gorgeous,” was spoken from his lips, the same lips that curved into that perfect smile, the same lips that were smeared with red lipstick. But there was only one thing she wanted them to be doing.

Despite her irritation from his comment, she looked up at him with a seductive smile, “Shut up and kiss me, marimo.” She was going to have a goddamn heart attack if he kept smiling at her like that.

The normally grumpy marimo looked like she just offered him free booze. He leaned forward and gently brushed his lips against hers, teasing Sanji before he pulled her lower lip into his mouth and sucked.

She couldn’t stop the long, desperate moan that came from her throat. Sanji could feel Zoro’s dick hardening against her belly, even through the fabric of his jeans. He ended up letting go of her lip to groan, “Fuck, Sanji…”

Hearing Zoro say her name like that was her undoing. She came on the spot. And honestly, who can blame her? The man had never called her by her name. He only called her ‘curly brow’ and she _hated_ it. So yeah, when he groaned her name like he did, she fell apart.

As her legs were shaking from the aftermath, Zoro was already there to hold her tightly against him. Sanji found the courage to look him in the eye and immediately regretted it. He had the most seductive, steamiest, sexiest look in his eye. He looked like he wanted to take her home and fuck her until daybreak.

When she turned away from his gaze, it was as if some spell had been broken. She was beginning to grasp the situation she found herself in. Sanji had gotten herself stuck between a rock and a hard place. The rock being the marimo and his muscles as they held her in a vise grip, whereas the hard place was the large erection he was sporting. With all the willpower she could muster, she murmured, “Umm, I should be getting back…”

A moment passed before he sighed, “Oh.” But it wasn’t disappointment in his tone, it was more like he never realized that was a possibility. There was always the possibility he wouldn’t take no for an answer, but Sanji knew he wasn’t that kind of man. The marimo released her from his embrace and _damn,_ he looked like a kid who just lost his favorite toy.

Giving in, if only _slightly,_ Sanji reached out and tangled her slender fingers with his rough ones. Their time together had to end, “I’ll walk you back, don’t want you getting lost.” She couldn’t help but smile at his adorable blush.

The closer they got to _All Blue,_ the more nervous and anxious Sanji became. She wasn’t able to look at him the entire walk back, all she could do was enjoy the feeling of his hand wrapped up in hers while it lasted.

Arriving in the alleyway behind her restaurant and his dojo, Sanji finally stopped walking and faced him. There was a serious look in his gray eye as Zoro asked her, “Will I see you tomorrow?”

Sanji was taken aback by his question. It was a question that she had been asked many times, but the way he said it was different. Zoro sounded like he _needed_ to see her tomorrow. The whole idea of it made her smirk and tease, “Why? Did you miss me, marimo?”

He wasn’t amused by her teasing and actually _pouted_ at Sanji. Since they were still holding each other’s hand, Zoro pulled her to him for a kiss and _fuck_ , he was a good kisser.

As the marimo kissed her, even just briefly, she felt so lost. It was like he was _meant_ to kiss her—like he would _always_ kiss her.

She _really_ needed to get out of there.

Deciding to give him a taste of his own medicine, Sanji deviously smiled and said, “See you tomorrow, Zoro,” before escaping inside her restaurant.

*End Flashback*

So, now she was cooped up in her office, analyzing every little detail, obsessing over what the marimo really thought of her. Because no matter how gorgeous the marimo was, or amazingly good at kissing, or sexy and muscular and rugged—he didn’t really _say_ a whole lot. Well, the marimo had said she was beautiful, and later that she looked gorgeous. That had to count for something, right?

It didn’t. Not to Sanji. Those words didn’t feel true to her, because she couldn’t see it. When Sanji looked in the mirror, she only saw her flaws. She would see the weird curl of her eyebrows, the small lines that would one day become a wrinkle, her blemishes and pores; the bags under her eyes after a long day or a sleepless night. Sanji saw the stretchmarks on her breasts and hips, every bulge of fat that covered her tummy and thighs. She saw someone who needed to be covered and hidden by a layer of makeup, beneath her hair, behind a mask.

Yes, a mask. Sanji wore her masks, like many people do. There were many advantages to wearing a mask. Hiding the way she thinks of herself is something she has gotten used to doing. She was Zeff’s kid—she had to be tough and fierce, no matter what. So, she wore a mask of confidence that hid her insecurities and self-hatred. She was incredibly good at it too, there wasn’t anyone who could really tell that she was hurting inside.

But then she met Law and he was incredibly good at seeing right through her masks. Probably because he did the same thing. Sanji _knew_ he did the same thing. Law was just like her, he had things he didn’t let people see, not even her.

Sure, she witnessed the aftermath of countless nightmares of his over the past two years, but he never told her what they were about. And she never pried, just asked him if he wanted to talk about it; he never did. Maybe that was why Sanji never completely opened up and talked to Law about her own issues.

The day they met was a couple of months after she opened her restaurant. She made a mistake and ended up cutting her hand at work and needed stitches. Law happened to be working in the Emergency Room that night and his shift conveniently ended after he helped her. As they say, the rest is history—and in this case that little bit of ‘history’ was the fact they went back to his place (it was closer to the hospital) and had half a dozen rounds of sex.

What could she say? The guy was hot—tan skin, tattoos, mysterious eyes, sexy voice—not to mention a _fucking surgeon_ aka _smart_. Sanji was a woman who would do _anything_ for a handsome man, especially one who was clearly troubled and dubbed a ‘bad boy.’ The guy had the word ‘DEATH’ tattooed on his fingers for fuck’s sake! Plus, she was still new in town at the time and hadn’t been able to meet anyone since she was always working.

After that night Sanji and Law ended up meeting up later in the week, which turned into another time, and another, and another, etcetera.  Until finally Sanji wanted to know what she was supposed to call their relationship. That was when he told her that they were ‘together.’

So, since they were ‘together’ she wanted to do something with him other than have sex. Albeit, the sex was _great,_ but Sanji wanted to _do_ things with Law. He was just so fucking busy all the time and exhausted from work and not being able to sleep because of his nightmares. All that combined with Sanji’s schedule left little time for them to actually see each other.

Sure, there were times Sanji would bring Law lunch when she knew he was working a long shift, always with a black coffee, just the way he liked it. Sometimes he would come to her restaurant with his friends. They had moments like those, sure, but they never went on a date.

Yeah, two years ‘together’ and never did they go on a real date. Law never wanted to, no matter how much Sanji begged him to take her on one. Looking back on it all now, Sanji felt like she should’ve known better, she should’ve ended things sooner, before he had cheated on her with the person she was the most paranoid about.

When she saw Law with Bonney that day, it didn’t even surprise her. From the time they first met, Sanji had never liked the way Bonney would look at Law. He always insisted that he wasn’t interested her in that way, but it never helped to calm her insecurities.

Sanji didn’t yell or make a sound, not that it would’ve been noticed by the two as they fucked each other on the dinner table. She ended up standing there, with the door still open, until they were finished. She watched and listed to them for what felt like forever, both _obviously_ enjoying themselves, moaning and screaming each other’s names saying how much they wanted it.

All of it was validation of what she already knew: that she wasn’t good enough and there was always someone better, someone to replace her.

She doesn’t know how long she stood there in the open doorway before they finally noticed her. The expression on Law’s face was one of complete indifference. Bonney’s smug grin wasn’t any better.

Next to the door was a table that Law set his keys on. With all the willpower she had, she pried his apartment key from her keyring and did the same with his copy of hers on his own. It had a heart charm on the ring, so it was easy to find. She didn’t waste her breath, she didn’t lash out, she didn’t get angry. All she did was leave his key on the table and close the door behind her.

Then Sanji had walked away, because it was about damn time she did. Part of her wondered if Law would come after her, but she didn’t care, what’s done is done. She couldn’t change the past, the expiration date on their ‘together’ had arrived. Sanji only cursed herself for being too desperate for his affection to realize this sooner.

When she looked up at the clock in her office, she learned she had stayed past closing time. She was probably the only person still in the building. Just to be sure, Sanji walked through her restaurant to make sure it was actually empty before locking up.

On her walk home, she opened her pack of smokes and placed one between her teeth then used a lighter until it caught. The first drag of smoke felt like a breath of relief after going three days without nicotine. She was weaning herself off, already had been down to one a day. If it wasn’t for losing her voice she would’ve had one the past two days, but she wasn’t perfect and was looking forward to this _All. Day. Long_.

When she exhaled the toxic smoke, she felt relieved and simply enjoyed the cigarette while it lasted. Once it was finished, Sanji placed the filter in the package and tossed it back into her bag with the lighter.

_I wonder what Zoro would think of this habit of mine… Doesn’t matter—I’m still trying to quit._

As she opened the door to her apartment, Sanji was once again reminded of Law. After closing the door behind her, she grits her teeth and scowled at the picture that sat on the table. It was from the first time he visited her at work, she had a huge smile on her face and Law had that smug smirk he had in _every_ goddamn picture. There was once a time when the sight of it made her swoon and gasp at his sexy mysteriousness, but now it just pissed her off.

She wasn’t going to keep making excuses, she had to take care of this. Sanji tossed her bag, keys, and jacket on the table and picked up the frame instead. After removing the picture from the frame, Sanji gathered _all_ the pictures of him or the two of them together that were scattered throughout the place.

Now on a mission, Sanji began collecting _everything_ in her apartment that was his or reminded her of Law. Every article of clothing—socks, boxers, pants, shirts, sweaters, shoes, jacket—even the ones only she wore. There was his soap and shampoo in the shower, a toothbrush next to hers, shaving cream and a razor. A stuffed bear he once gave her for valentine’s day, the pillow he slept on, his favorite blanket. It might’ve been a stupid idea that she just made on a whim, but once she saw it all piled together on her dinner table, she felt relieved.

Once that was done, she got ready for bed—took a shower, brushed her teeth, washed her face. The alarm clock read eleven-forty-two, it was much later in the evening than she thought. But none of it mattered because it was Friday and Sanji didn’t work on the weekends.

Her bed was comfortable, but not as comfortable as the marimo’s embrace. As Sanji drifted off to sleep, her thoughts were filled with his piercing gray eye, the soft green hair between her fingers, the way he said her name…

The sun was shining into her bedroom when she woke up, feeling well rested but incredibly _horny_. So, without thinking about it too much Sanji grabbed her blue vibrator from the drawer of her nightstand—for when Law wasn’t around to satisfy her—and turned it on a low, steady setting.

Not in the mood to mess around—she actually wanted to get off as quickly as possible—Sanji yanked her pajama bottoms down to her ankles and spread her legs. With the vibrator in her right hand, she used her left to part her already-wet lips before rubbing it against her clit.

She closed her eyes imagining the marimo above her, between her legs, touching her, licking her, worshiping her, and cried out in pleasure. “ _Aaaahhh! Mmmm, shit!_ ” Sanji’s orgasm hit her hard, she felt the slick wetness of her juices pouring out of her throbbing cunt. Her legs shook, and her muscles clenched, then she turned the vibrator up to high.

_Aaaaah… Oh FUCK! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuuuuuuck! Zoro! Zoro! I want you to fuck me! So fucking sexy, so fucking MANLY, so strong and muscular. Fuck! Such a goddamn animal, and wild like a beast! Oh, YES! Yes, yesss… I’ll do anything you want, Zoro! Fuuuck, yes I will. Mmmmm, yeah, I’ll be such a slut for you, let you fuck me as hard as you want._

To say she was feeling blissful was an understatement, she was elated. Her orgasm had lasted far longer than usual and left her unable to move her legs for a few more minutes. As she came down from her high, she started to realize what she had done.

_SHIT! What the FUCK was I thinking? I am such a goddamn pervert! I can’t believe I just masturbated to ZORO! Oh my god, this is so embarrassing, how am I going to face him ever again?!_

Still unable to move her legs, Sanji was forced to stay put on her bed laying in the mess she made. This was what she got for her half-awake, horny, and hasty thinking—or lack thereof.

Really though, the truth is she was a pervert. She got off on being dominated, being told what to do to get her partner off. Sanji wanted to please, being used and abused turned her on and got her off. She didn’t feel worthy of love no matter how desperate she was to receive it.

Sanji doesn’t even know what the marimo thinks of her, all she knows is he is interested in _presumably_ sleeping with her. The man is fucking _Adonis,_ he has probably slept with every woman who ever caught his eye, and then some. He said he’s not interested in having a relationship and it was the same fucking shit with Law. Was she _really_ going to put herself in the same situation _twice_ in a row?

_But Zoro isn’t Law._

This thought felt like a revelation for Sanji. It was like a weight was lifted from her chest only to have another two be added. Because even if she gave Zoro a chance, he might just break her heart beyond repair in the end. The way he held her in his big, strong arms, how his lips spoke her name, but most of all the way he kissed her, felt like home. If Sanji ever lost that, if he rejected her or would replace her—that would _destroy_ her.

 _I know he wants to see me today… I wonder if he is planning on going to_ All Blue _again… Fuck! That stupid moss-brain of his is pea-sized! There is no way I am going into work on the weekend, which means… I need to visit his dojo—I’ll bring him lunch!_

The aftershock of her orgasm had finally passed, and Sanji didn’t feel all that guilty about it because the marimo probably has gotten himself off thinking about _her_. So she wasn’t going to pay it any mind. Besides, who the fuck _else_ was she supposed to get off on? Sanji has met, has _kissed,_ a fucking _god._ Zoro has literally _ruined_ all other men for her.

She climbed out of bed and decided to wash her bedding and sheets since her fluids leaked onto them. Once they were in the wash and she had used the bathroom, she cooked herself breakfast, deciding to make poached eggs with avocado on toast. It was divine and when she was finished eating, she realized it was already ten-twenty.

In what felt like record time she got ready to visit the marimo at his dojo, then left her apartment, forgetting all about the aftermath of the night before all over her dinner table.

Stopping at the grocery store along the way, Sanji arrived at the dojo right around noon. The moment she walked through the front door she spotted the marimo almost immediately and she forgot how to breathe because it was the first time she had ever seen him shirtless.

And oh _god_ was it a sight—the marimo shirtless—but not for the obvious reasons. No, Sanji had expected him to be solid muscle underneath the tuxedo he wore the night they met. She had imagined the perfectly sculpted pectoral and abdominal muscles. Even the hallows of his collarbone and the defined ‘v’ between his hips. Yeah, all that was a lot to take in, especially for a woman like Sanji who was so attracted by the male physique it was damn near shameful.

What she never expected to see was a scar nearly slicing it all in half. From the bottom of his collarbone to the top of his hipbone. There were countless other scars all across his chest and arms, but it was by far the most severe injury he ever had. Still, the man was standing there before her as if it was normal to have a scar like that across one’s body.

She was unable to speak. Her mind was going crazy as he walked closer with that cocky smirk on his face, “What’re you doing here, curly brow?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! So I FINALLY finished writing, editing, re-writing, editing, and on and on. So yeah, this is the product of that, I hope you all enjoyed it. I know the flashback is pretty lengthy, but I think it ended up being worth it because Sanji's whole experience of what went on during their first kiss is very different from Zoro's.  
> Anyway, I hope you were able to get a better feeling for what went on during Law and Sanji's relationship and also Sanji's self-confidence issues.  
> Also, Zoro is indeed an idiot. Oftentimes when he thinks Sanji is blushing, she is actually just pissed off. I just think that is so them.
> 
> Yeah, so in the comments I had mentioned that I have considered writing chapters in Law and also Nami's POV. So y'all should let me know what you think of that idea.
> 
> There was also talk about how Zoro finds out that Law is Sanji's ex. So I already know how he finds out, but I don't know if Law or Sanji is going to be the one to 'spill the beans.' Any of your thoughts or ideas on this matter are welcome.
> 
> On a side note, sort of, I have been seriously considering writing a one shot/possible longer story about Luffy meeting Zoro as a woman in the One Piece universe. Would anyone read that?
> 
> Okay, finally I would like to say thank you to anyone and everyone who has read this story thus far, left kudos, or a comment. It means a lot.  
> The comments on this story have been so wonderful to read, even if I don't reply to you, know that I was happier than you probably realize just knowing someone liked my story enough to let me know that.   
> So thank you. Please keep letting me know what you think, I have big plans for this story, so I want to know what everyone wants to read about.
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	7. Zoro's Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
> 
> This chapter contains lemons, so enjoy or don't.

As for Zoro, his Saturday morning was spent the same way it usually was. He had gotten up early for his morning training, ate breakfast, and was doing more training until lunch. The only difference was that all Zoro could think about was seeing Sanji later for dinner.

Ever since he kissed her the night before, Zoro had been driving himself insane. It wasn’t because it had been his first kiss ever and it wasn’t because he suddenly had wanted to taste and feel _all_ of her. No, Zoro was going crazy because he finally understood the way he felt about Sanji.

This entire time he had been falling, farther and harder for the blonde cook. From the moment he first saw her singing, Zoro was in love. And he felt like an idiot—hell, he _was_ an idiot. Not because he had fallen in love with a woman who was charming, charismatic, and everything Zoro was not—but because it took him this long to realize it.

It wasn’t his fault. He had never concerned himself with such things like love or romance. Zoro had spent much of the twenty-seven years of his life becoming the greatest swordsman in the world. He had accomplished his lifelong dream of defeating Dracule Mihawk and had been content with simply holding the title. But after he met Sanji, none of it was enough for him any longer, because meeting Sanji had changed Zoro and made him crave something he never had before.

Everything about her drove him wild, both in good and bad ways. The way her mood could flip like a switch was one of those things. He was way in over his head, Sanji was on a completely different level and had far more experience than him. She never would react the way Zoro expected her to; she was unpredictable, exciting, and a challenge. The woman was everything he never knew he needed in his life.

Oh, Zoro needed _her._ Never in his life had there been someone who captivated and demanded his attention like Sanji did. There wasn’t anyone else who made Zoro feel so damn embarrassed and pathetic, while also being able to stroke his ego simply by being in their presence. Sanji was the first and only person he ever felt attracted to in any way, shape, or form. He _ached_ with the desire to claim her and keep her all to himself.

Fuck, yes. Zoro wanted to make her his—he wanted to possess all of the blonde cook, worship her with his entire being. There was no way in hell he was going to let this woman go, not when she was within his grasp. Not like last night when after he had finally kissed her and realized what he wanted, she had to go back to work.

No, tonight would be different. He was going to tell her how he feels, no matter how difficult it was for him to put into words. Zoro would just have to be patient and wait until they could be alone; maybe he would be so lucky to kiss more than just her lips.

Not that he didn’t love her mouth—when she sang, when she spoke, when she smiled, when she laughed—Zoro loved it all. But what he found himself longing for was to kiss and lick her entire body, especially that sweet spot between her legs. He fucking _loves_ Sanji’s legs, they were toned with muscle, but curvy and soft-looking, feminine. Zoro wanted to find out just how strong they were, in any way he could.

When Zoro finished two-thousand reps of his handstands with a barbell balanced on his feet, he dropped the weights and wiped the sweat off his body with a towel. It was almost noon which meant it was the perfect time to go upstairs for lunch and a shower. As he made his way through the dojo, the front door opened and in walked the woman of his affections.

Time seemed to stop for the two of them as they stood frozen in each other’s gaze. Sanji looked as perfect and flawless as always, wearing a pale, pink dress that looked more casual than the ones she usually wore. Her hair was up as usual, with her bangs covering the left side of her face, but Zoro could tell she didn’t wear as much makeup as she usually did.

After the initial shock of seeing her wore off, Zoro walked over to her with a smirk, “What’re you doing here, curly brow?”

She blinked at him a few times, then shook her head. Her cheeks were a gorgeous shade of pink, “Umm, I wanted to offer to cook you lunch.”

“Oh,” that explains the grocery bag she was carrying, “Follow me.”

That curly eyebrow of hers was raised, but she took a step towards him and he begun leading them to the upper level of the dojo. He made sure he was standing straight, at his full height and his shoulders square. Zoro could feel her gaze on his back as she followed behind him, like she was studying him with that blue eye of hers.

Once they were upstairs, he showed her his kitchen. Sanji strolled right past him and placed the grocery bag down on the countertop. He watched her as she began pulling some groceries from the bag, “Do you need any help?”

She stopped what she was doing for a moment to shake her head and smile at him, “No, you can just take a shower and get dressed.”

Zoro forgot how to breathe for a second before he nodded his head and left her to do as he was told. He didn’t care that she was bossing him around in his own place. There was something very natural about how it all felt, having Sanji cook for him in his kitchen. He was actually excited about it and wondered if everything she made was delicious.

_Of course—anything that woman cooks would be incredible. She could probably make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich taste like a five-star meal._

Still, he couldn’t believe she was really here, in his place cooking him lunch. It made his heart yearn to be closer to the woman and be one with her.

He finished his shower and wore some gym shorts and a tank top. Normally he wouldn’t wear a shirt, but it seemed to bother Sanji when he was shirtless earlier, so he put _something_ on.

Once he walked back into his kitchen, Zoro saw Sanji was humming to herself as she cooked. Whatever she was making smelled amazing and he assumed she would refuse his help if he offered, so Zoro decided to just sit at the table and watch her do her thing.

And _damn_ was cooking Sanji’s thing. He thought he liked watching her sing, but watching her cook was something else entirely. From the way her blue eye sparkled, her curly brow furrowing and relaxing, the curl of her lips and the way she pulled her lower lip between her teeth in concentration—Zoro loved all of it.

When she was finished, Sanji brought two plates to the table and sat down next to him.

Zoro looked down at his plate of salmon and asparagus, and proceeded to dig in. It was delicious, just as he would expect from the woman. As he ate with enthusiasm, Sanji watched him with a smile on her lips.

By the time Zoro was finished eating, he noticed that Sanji hadn’t touched the food on the plate in front of her. He gazed at her curiously, “Aren’t you going to eat, curly brow?”

Sanji nodded her head, “Yeah, I just was distracted,” then she started to eat her own lunch.

Zoro smiled, “Distracted, eh?” He teased, “Don’t tell me _I_ distract you.”

She rolled her blue eye and continued to eat, not answering him. He was about to get up from the table when she suddenly asked, “How’d you get that scar of your chest?”

Unconsciously, Zoro rubbed at the top of the scar under his tank top as he answered her, “It happened when I was still a teenager—first time I challenged Dracule Mihawk to a duel.” He shook his head and scoffed at the memory, “I was in over my head.” When he glanced back at Sanji she was still eating her food. She was listening, and her blue eye was on his gray one. Zoro smiled at her, “I was lucky he didn’t kill me.”

“Yeah,” Sanji looked down at her plate, she had a pained look in her eye and a slight frown on her face.

“Anyway,” he wanted to change the subject to something other than his near-death experience from eight years ago. “Thanks for cooking, it was good,” he smirked at her.

She shrugged, “It’s what I do.”

“You do it well,” he complimented.

It made her blush, “I’m sorry for just coming by, I hope I’m not imposing.”

He smiled, “Not at all.” Zoro loved having her here, but he wasn’t expecting to see her so early in the day. He wasn’t prepared for this yet—nervous, he scratched the back of his head, “Your food tastes better than what I can make.”

Sanji giggled at him, the sound made his stomach twist, “Thanks, marimo.” She was finishing the last of her food and picked up their plates as she stood from the table.

Zoro watched her walk to the kitchen sink and begin to wash the dishes. He got up from the table and walked up beside her, picking up a dishtowel, “Do you have to work today?”

She handed him a dish to dry and shook her head, “No, I take the weekends off. I love my job, but I don’t want to be there every day.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that last night?” He wondered aloud.

His question made her turn to him with a surprised look, “I didn’t think it mattered.”

She looked so beautiful like that, with a lost look in her blue eye as it shined up at him. Zoro’s heart was pounding as he glanced down at her slightly parted lips. He gulped and shook his head, “You’re right.”

They finished the dishes in silence, Sanji washing and Zoro drying them. It was relaxing doing something so mundane with her, but Zoro was eager to have the chore done so they could do something more exciting together.

Once the dishes were put away, Sanji asked, “So, what are your plans for the day, marimo?”

He watched as she dried her hands with a towel, “Well, I _also_ take the weekends off. So, I was planning on working out until dinnertime and then I was going to visit _All Blue_.” She looked at him hesitantly and Zoro smiled at her, “But if you don’t have to work that changes things.”

Sanji smirked at him as she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck, “Oh, really?”

Zoro placed his hands on her waist, “Mmhm…” Licked his lips and captured her mouth with his.

As they deepened the kiss, Zoro’s hands caressed Sanji’s lower back and pulled her closer. Sanji’s hands slid down to the front of his chest and she tightly gripped the fabric of the tank top he was wearing, pulling herself to him.

The way she felt in his arms was incredible, there was a warmth he felt in his chest and his entire body felt relaxed in a way he never experienced before. Zoro didn’t think anything could be more satisfying. This was only the second time he had ever kissed someone, the first time being the night before. All of this was new to Zoro, the feelings, the actions, and definitely being touched… _there._

When Sanji’s hand found its way to his growing erection, Zoro broke their kiss with a hiss on his lips, “ _Fuck._ ” He squeezed his eye shut, the slightest touch was almost too much to handle.

Suddenly, Sanji stepped away and when Zoro opened his eye he saw her apologetic look, “I—I’m sorry.”

He stared at her, puzzled, “Why? What’re _you_ apologizing for?”

Sanji frowned and her blue eye fell to stare at a spot on the floor, “I just…” She shook her head, Zoro could tell that whatever she wanted to say was difficult for her to put into words, he could relate to that.

Taking a step forward, Zoro took her hands in his and waited to her blue eye to meet his gray one. When she looked up at him with a slight pink hue on her otherwise pale cheeks, Zoro confessed, “Look, I honestly didn’t realize what my feelings for you were until last night.” He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, “ _I’m_ sorry.”

She stared back up at him, staying silent but her expression was confused.

Zoro teasingly grumbled, “Oh, so _now_ you decide to shut up _._ ” He grinned when his comment made Sanji furrow her curly eyebrow and told her, “I love you.”

It just slipped out. He didn’t mean to tell her like that, but she just looked so _beautiful_ when she was irritated. Zoro watched as Sanji’s expression changed to surprise, then confusion, then finally to anger.

_Fuck, why is she angry?_

It didn’t take long to find out, because Sanji began to shout, “WHAT THE _HELL_ , MARIMO?! _THAT_ IS NO WAY TO SAY SOMETHING LIKE _THAT!_ ”

“WELL, HOW THE HELL AM I _SUPPOSED_ TO SAY IT, THEN?!” He fired back, Zoro was already embarrassed that it just slipped out, now she was making fun of him—angry with him for it.

Sanji’s curly eyebrow furrowed even more, if it was even possible, and she glared at Zoro—giving him a deadly look that actually did frighten him a little bit, but he wasn’t going to stand down. She seemed to realize this and sighed, “Fuck, marimo. You are just hopeless.”

Zoro crossed his arms and now _he_ was the one glaring at _her_.

She began to laugh, “Have you _ever_ done this before?”

That comment made Zoro’s face become red, in anger or embarrassment, he couldn’t quite tell, “No.”

The single word made Sanji stop laughing, she looked at Zoro in confusion, “Wait, seriously?”

He rolled his eye and sighed, “I’ve never done _anything_ like this before,” Zoro gestured between the two of them. “From the moment I saw you, I was absolutely blown away—I had never seen or heard someone so beautiful—I thought you were an angel.” Zoro smiled fondly at the memory, “Then I got to know you and you were nothing like I expected—not that I knew what to expect—but _everything_ about you makes me crazy.”

He bit his lower lip nervously and scratched the back of his head, “I didn’t know why, I never wanted to spend time with another person or be close to them, hear their voice, see them smile, listen as they laugh. I’ve never been on a date or had a girlfriend—I never kissed anyone until yesterday—”

“Wait! Stop!” Sanji cut him off, shaking her head and blinking up at him, “Are you saying that you have _never_ been in a romantic relationship? Like, _ever_?”

Zoro sighed, “Yeah. I told you I’ve never been interested in anyone like that.”

Sanji stared at him, flabbergasted, “I thought you meant like _dating_ not _completely!_ ”

“Well, that’s _not_ what I meant.” Zoro shook his head, in annoyance from this weird misunderstanding. He turned his back to her, “Now, I’m sure you don’t want anything to do with me, right?”

“Why would you think that?” Her voice was softer than usual, Zoro had never heard Sanji speak to him like that. He turned around and was caught in her blue-eyed gaze, “What makes you think I would want nothing to do with you?”

He gulped, “Because I have no idea how to do this. It’s all new to me—I’ve never even had sex! I didn’t care about that—I don’t—but since I met you...” Zoro grit his teeth and closed his eye, he really felt horrible for some of the thoughts he’d had about her.

Sanji stepped closer until she could reach up and touch the scar that ran over his left eye, “Hey, hey…” Zoro slowly opened his good eye and saw tenderness in her blue eye, “First of all—quit being such an idiot. You are thinking about this way too much and making it harder than it needs to be.” She playfully rolled her eye with a smile playing on her lips, “Second, I am interested in you, too. I don’t care if you are an idiot and don’t know what you’re doing, because I think you are the sexiest man alive and not actually that bad.”

Zoro’s heart was now pounding in his chest, he could hardly believe what Sanji had just said. He was partially offended, but coming from Sanji it was incredibly satisfying and made him feel full in his chest.

She was softly caressing his face with her hand while the other she placed over his heart. Sanji’s smile grew as she could certainly feel how fast it was beating, “And third, I’m not really the best at relationships either, but I’ve never felt as comfortable with anyone as I do with you.”

It took a moment for Zoro to realize what she was saying, and when he did, his face broke out into a shit-eating grin. “Hey, curly brow?”

Still caressing his cheek, Sanji raised her curly eyebrow in curiosity, “Yes, marimo?”

Staring into her pretty, blue eye, Zoro took a deep breath, “I care about you, more than I do for my nakama—even though I’ve only known you for the past week.” He studied her expression, for any sign of repulsion or disgust, when he found none, he continued, “You have been on my mind constantly and every time I am with you I feel complete. I want more time with you, I want more than just to see you sing at your restaurant or have a meal together. I want to experience everything there is to experience with you,” he sighed and pleaded, “Please, tell me it’s not just me who feels this way.”

Sanji gently pressed her lips to his, then whispered across them, “God, you really are an idiot.”

He grunted at the insult, but honestly, he couldn’t argue with her on that fact—it’s true. Zoro finally gave-in to his body’s desires and wrapped his arms around Sanji’s torso, pulling her small frame against his large one. They began to kiss again, lips moving against each other’s in a way that felt so natural and easy, like they had done it thousands of times before.

Zoro began to kiss along her jaw to her earlobe to gently lick and tug on, causing Sanji to gasp. He hummed with delight, “You make such pretty sounds. I’d like to hear all of them,” then he continued to lick, suck and nibble the hot, pale skin along her throat.

She rolled her head to the side, giving him easier access and Zoro took full advantage of it. When he found a particularly sensitive spot for Sanji, he began to suck at it harder. The soft moans and the catches of her breath were driving him wild. He popped his mouth off her neck, making a loud noise, and Zoro smirked at the dark mark he left at the base of her neck.

Their eyes met and Zoro just about lost it from the look Sanji was giving him. She wasn’t mad, quite the contrary—she looked…aroused. He gulped, “Uhh, _shit_ …”

Sanji ended up batting her long eyelashes at him teasingly, “Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you’re already done?”

There was a challenge in her words, and that was all it took for Zoro to fucking lose it.

He effortlessly threw her over his shoulder and began to walk down the hall to his bedroom. If he was going to make this woman his, he was going to do it in his bed.

“HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING, STUPID MOSS-HEAD?!” Sanji was kicking her legs in the air and pounding her fists against his back until he tossed her onto the mattress, silencing her.

Zoro gazed down at the blonde woman with seriousness, “I want you to be mine. Do you understand?”

Her blue eye was wide, but she nodded her head.

The corner of Zoro’s mouth twitched up into a sideways grin, “Good girl. Now, why don’t you take that pretty dress of yours off and let me see what you’ve got on underneath?”

There was a surprised look in her blue eye, but she stayed silent as she slipped out of her pink dress and tossed it to the floor.

Zoro licked his lips, Sanji was wearing a matching set of blush pink lacey lingerie. “Mmmm, did you put that sexy outfit on just for me?”

Sanji’s entire chest and face blushed and turned her pale skin a gorgeous shade of pink, giving her away.

He was grinning lustfully at her, “You must really want me to fuck you,” he teased, “I hope you know how much I want the exact same thing.”

A long, lewd moan came from Sanji and the sound went straight to Zoro’s dick. He could feel it trying to escape from the confines of his gym shorts, tenting the fabric in the front, but he ignored it. “Do you want me to touch you,” he asked as seductively as he could, “Make you feel good?”

“ _Fuck, Zoro… Yes!_ ”

Hearing her say his name made Zoro feel extremely happy, so he began to stupidly smile at her, “I’m going to make you scream my name, Sanji.”

Before she could say another word, Zoro pressed his lips to hers for a hard, demanding kiss. He could tell he took her off guard, because when he broke the kiss Sanji was panting for air. Zoro trailed kisses down her neck again, sucking and leaving marks of different sizes and various shades across her neck and chest.

Reaching the tops of her breasts, Zoro tentatively took one in his hand, causing Sanji to gasp. He liked how soft and squishy it felt, very unlike his own chest. The bra she was wearing was sexy, but Zoro was far too curious to see what was underneath, “Take this off, now,” he demanded, gently tugging on the lace to make it clear what he was referring to.

He let her sit up and watched intently as she reached around with one hand and the fabric loosened, the straps slid down her arms and her breasts were bare. For a few moments Zoro just stared at the beautiful sight as she lay on her back beneath him.

“You are so gorgeous, Sanji. I could look at you lay like this all damn day.” He bit his lip seductively, “I’ll have to do that some other time, though.” He dipped his head down and sucked one of her pink nipples into his mouth, flicking at it with his tongue, while one hand was softly circling the other nipple with his fingers.

Sanji’s breath caught in her throat, “Nuhh, _oh_ , Zoro…”

He popped her nipple from his mouth and moved to the other, which was firm from his teasing. Zoro’s hand wandered down her side, over her hip, and down to her leg. Everything about Sanji made her beautiful, but Zoro especially loved her legs.

As he moved his mouth across her breasts, sucking and nipping, making marks on her pale, creamy skin, Zoro slowly began to pull the lacey underwear down her legs. When his mouth made its way down to her hips, Zoro got off the bed and dragged Sanji’s body to the edge so her legs were dangling over the side.

Zoro couldn’t believe how much he was enjoying the view or a naked Sanji on his bed, wearing nothing but a pair of brown high heels. She was definitely the sexiest thing he had ever seen, laying there with hickeys covering her torso in all the places she was sensitive.

He pushed her legs farther apart and knelt between them, then began to lick and kiss along her inner thigh. Zoro ended up leaving more hickeys between her legs, as Sanji began to moan louder from him teasing her. “ _Fuck! Zoro~ Please~!_ I—I—”

The desperate plea in her voice made Zoro stop sucking on the top of her leg, right beside the most intimate part of her body. Humming in delight, Zoro licked up the glistening wetness that was beginning to spill from her core.

She gasped, “Zoro!”

_Fuck, it’s not just her cooking—SHE tastes amazing!_

Zoro’s mouth was on her dripping hole, his tongue lapping up the warm juices she was leaking. He moved his tongue farther up her slit until he felt a small nub and it caused Sanji to buck her hips and moan.

Now, he was certainly no expert on how to do any of this, but he took that as a good sign and began to experiment with his tongue on the sensitive spot. When Sanji tried to move her hips, Zoro wrapped his left arm around her right thigh and held her against his shoulder. She was exactly where he wanted her to be, so he continued to lick and suck her nub and used his right hand to really get a _feel_ for what he was getting himself into.

When Zoro’s fingers first slid across Sanji’s slick entrance, he felt her body quiver. He pushed a finger into her and the warmth, the feeling, the fact this was _Sanji_ made him lose it. After putting just one finger insider her, Zoro ejaculated in his gym shorts. He didn’t know if Sanji could tell or not, admittedly, he didn’t care, but if she was going to make him feel so good from letting him touch her, Zoro sure as hell wanted to make her feel good in return.

The moan that came from Sanji also didn’t help, but that was _just_ the encouragement he needed to forget all about the fact he was getting of just from fingering this sexy blonde. Zoro began pumping his finger in and out of her, slowly at first, then setting a strong, steady rhythm. Then he decided to add another finger and spread them apart inside of her.

_“Ohhh~ shit!”_ Sanji sounded like she liked what he was doing, and he could feel her clenching around his fingers.

“Hmmm, you like that, Sanji?” He muttered it against her swollen bud and gave it another long, hard suck.

The sounds that came from her had Zoro’s dick twitching, he pumped his fingers faster and harder, twisting and searching for a spot that she likes. He knew when he found it because he felt Sanji’s thigh begin to shake against his shoulder and the other came crashing into the side of his skull. She had his head pinned between her thighs and her fingers shoved into his hair, _“Fuck! Zoro! Ahhh~ uuhhh, mmmmm, more, more, more!”_

Zoro didn’t know what more he could do other than put another finger inside her, so that is what he did. The resulting gasp from Sanji made him wonder if it was the wrong thing to do, but then a long moan came from her throat.

He pulled his mouth away from her and opened his eye, “That feel good?”

Sanji moaned at his question, _“Fuck~ Yes~ Zoro, yes! It feels—Ahhh~!”_

The slick wetness was pouring from her, covering Zoro’s hand. It was exhilarating, having this beautiful woman so aroused by the way he touched her delectable body.

Once she stopped pulsing around his fingers, Zoro pulled them from her stretched hole and stood between her legs. He gazed down at her flushed, bruised body before meeting her gaze and reaching out to her with his filthy hand, “Suck.”

The look in her blue eye was hazy, filled with lust and desire—for him. She sucked and licked his fingers clean, effectively making Zoro’s dick begin to swell and throb, aching to be touched.

When she popped the last finger from her sexy mouth, Sanji seemed to know exactly what he wanted. With a seductive grin and more strength than Zoro expected—using just her legs—Sanji managed to flip their bodies, so Zoro was the one on the edge of his bed and she was straddling him.

She leaned forward and whispered into his ear, “Have you _really_ never done this before?”

It sent shivers down his spine, he didn’t even try hiding it. More importantly, Sanji had boosted his ego by asking him that. Attempting to sound as normal as possible, his voice came out flatly, “I never have.”

He could feel her tongue curl around his earlobe, only to suck and pull on his dangling earrings. When Sanji released them she practically _purred,_ “You have good instincts.”

Zoro groaned, because goddamn, this woman knew just what to say and do to stroke his ego.

Unconsciously, Zoro felt Sanji’s hands wander down his chest and pull up his tank top, urging him to lift his arms. After that was gone, so was Sanji—she got off his lap and tugged down his shorts. She raised that curly eyebrow, as if she realized he had already gotten off, but didn’t say anything.

Now with the two of them completely naked except for Sanji’s heels, she squatted to the height of his leaking cock. Giving him a smoldering look, she slowly licked her lips and opened her mouth around its head. Once he felt her hot mouth sucking on him, Zoro came.

If Sanji minded, she couldn’t say anything, because he was filling her mouth with his cum. But she certainly didn’t _seem_ to mind. Sanji actually looked like she was having a _great_ time.

As Zoro caught his breath, he watched Sanji swallow everything he pumped into her mouth. _“Shit,_ you look so sexy swallowing my cum down. You made me cum so much, too~, but you took it all like such a good girl.”

He was stroking her head with his hand, petting her pretty, blonde hair. She was so incredible, she made him feel incredible, like his chest was on fire—but in a good way. Sanji still had that lustful look in her eye when she gazed up at him and he knew she wanted more.

Zoro pulled her up onto the bed as if she was weightless, because to him she was, and lay her down on her back. For a moment all he did was stare at her, then he asked, “Can I take your hair down?”

She stared at him like he had just asked the weirdest thing ever, which maybe it was considering the situation they found themselves in. Sanji however, didn’t seem to mind and nodded her head. Zoro reached around to the back of her head and removed the clip in her hair. Long, blonde hair came tumbling down, falling around her shoulders and covering her breasts.

A gasp escaped his lips before he told her, “You are so fucking perfect, Sanji.” Before she could say anything, Zoro kissed her mouth. He was so obsessed with this woman, it was probably unhealthy, but Zoro didn’t give a shit. The blonde cook needed to be his, he needed to show her just how much he loved her.

As they kissed, Zoro pushed her back into the mattress and rubbed his hardening cock against her body. When he started kissing along her jaw and down her neck, Sanji began to whimper. Zoro wrapped an arm around her back and held her body against his. It was effortless. He kissed his way back up to her ear, “Wrap your legs around me.” She listened to him in an instant and then he entered her.

Zoro was rather surprised by how tight and hot she felt, wrapping around his dick, but mostly it just felt absolutely incredible. He just _had_ to tell her, “Fuck, Sanji! You are sucking me into your tight, little hole.”

He felt her walls clenching onto him as she tried to move under his grasp. _“Ahhhh~ Zoro! Please~”_

That didn’t tell him anything, so Zoro pulled his hips back and rolled them back forward until he was completely inside her, earning himself a moan from Sanji.

_Fuck! She really seemed to like that, she is squeezing me so tight, it feels incredible—Sanji feels incredible!_

He continued to thrust himself in and out of her, kissing and sucking on the marks he had made where she was sensitive. When he suddenly hit a spot that made her scream, _“Holy shit! Zoro! Right there!”_

If that’s what Sanji wanted, he was certainly not going to refuse her, he sure as hell was going to tease her about it. He was going to keep hitting that spot, taking it as a challenge that Sanji didn’t think he could do. As he thrust into her a second time, hitting the spot again, Zoro grunted, “You think you can take it?”

After a small gasp, Sanji released a long moan, _“Yes~ I can take it. Please~ fuck me harder with your big cock!”_

Zoro hummed against her neck, “You sound like such a slut, you know that?” Then he hit that spot a third time and felt her body melt in his arms.

_“Ahhh~! Yesss~ yes, yes, yes, yes, Zoro! Fuck! YES!”_ Sanji was shaking against him, much like she had the night before after he said her name.

He ended up putting two and two together, “Does Sanji like to be called a little slut?”

_“MMMMMHHHUUUHHHH~!”_ What a delightful reaction. She really _was_ a little slut when she looked up at him like that, when she moaned and wrapped her body against his like she was clinging to her life source.

“Hmm,” this woman is a fucking pervert. Zoro suddenly didn’t feel so bad for all the things he had been thinking about the cook since they met. With a delightful grin, Zoro agreed, “Okay, but only if you are _Zoro’s. Little. Slut.”_

Fuck, the words came out a little more possessive than he wanted them to. So, Zoro couldn’t believe how loud she moaned after he called her that.

He felt relieved he hadn’t gone to far, then he felt super possessive and a little pissed. “Has Zoro’s little slut been a bad girl? Has she been a slut for _someone else?_ Hmm?”

Sanji didn’t say a word, didn’t moan, only whimpered and slackened her grip around his shoulders and Zoro took a hint. He pulled back and hit her sweet spot for a fourth time, just to get her attention before he whispered, “You’re Zoro’s slut now, Sanji. I’m going to ruin you for every other man.”

Then he rolled his hips back and thrust forward to hit that spot for a fifth, sixth, seventh, and once he hit the eight, he felt the familiar shake in Sanji’s legs. Zoro knew she was coming, but he planned on proving to her that he meant what he said, was a man of his word, and kept hitting that spot with every thrust he made.

_“Zoro! Zoro! Zoro! OH MY GOD! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK~! Mmmmmm~ MMMMMM~ AHHH! AAAAAAH~!”_ Then her noises were silent.

He remembered that little nub he had sucked swollen and moved his right hand down to that spot. When he brushed against it, her walls clamped down harder around him and her breath hitched. Zoro pressed his finger harder against it in a circular motion, and Sanji was then _screaming_ his name, chanting it, _“ZORO, ZORO, ZORO, ZORO…”_

Still pounding against her sweet spot—so many he lost count—he was beginning to feel himself preparing to burst. He interrupted the sweet chanting of his name to ask, “Should I pull out?” Because Zoro wasn’t _that_ big of an idiot, he knew how babies were made. Even if he never did it himself before now, he realized that he hadn’t worn a condom and Sanji might not want to be a mother.

She shook her head and used what strength and feeling was left in her legs to squeeze them around his body. He came inside of her with one final thrust, and shit, Zoro had never felt so fucking blissful in his entire life. There was nothing that mattered as much as the woman he was with. Fuck the consequences, he _loved_ Sanji, and if loving her like this ended up resulting in a child, he would love that child so _fucking_ much because it would be _theirs_.

Zoro held Sanji’s body against his and rolled onto his back. He was still inside her, feeling too sensitive to move. They were both breathing heavily from their orgasms, Sanji was completely limp as she molded herself seamlessly into his chest. Everything felt perfect, like it was something they had done before, but Zoro had never been this close and intimate with someone before in his life.

As they existed together, Zoro wrapped his arms around her back and unconsciously began drawing patterns across her skin, “Sanji, baby, you are so perfect. I love you so much, I don’t know what I did to deserve a chance with a woman like you.”  

Kissing the top of her head, Zoro began stroking her hair and somehow found the courage to finally brush her bangs from her face. When she didn’t react to touching her bangs, he pushed them aside and was met with her other blue eye staring up at him. He could see both of her curly eyebrows, the one that was hidden had the curl on the inner-part of her face.

_Fuck, she is so beautiful. Why does she feel like she has to hide her face? She is damn gorgeous._

When he gazed into her other blue eye, he could see she felt insecure. It was weird to see her like that, he didn’t like it, “Hey, what’s the matter?”

Sanji’s eyes widened, “N-nothing!”

He narrowed his eye, her cheeks were tinted pink, since she refused to come clean, Zoro sighed, “You still are going to be frustrating, huh?”

Zoro finally saw both her curly eyebrows furrow together in her own frustration. It was a beautiful sight, even when she yelled, “Fuck you!”

That comment actually made him grin and thrust his hips to remind her of where his dick still was. She looked rather sexy when she was mad like that, Sanji was always more beautiful than the last time he saw her. He was still grinning at her when he told her, “Fuck, you are really the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

The fire in her eyes burned out and was replaced by rain. For the life of him, he couldn’t understand why she was crying, but he fucking hated it. Whatever the reason, it was horrible, because this woman was gorgeous when she smiled, and he only wanted her to feel happy and loved. “Sanji, please don’t cry. Baby, please yell at me or hit me if you are upset, just please don’t fucking cry.”

What he said only managed to make it worse. She let out a broken sob and it felt worse than when Mihawk slashed his sword across his chest. Zoro was desperately cradling her against his chest, “Shhh, shhh. Baby, talk to me, tell me what’s wrong. Let me fix it.”

She was shaking her head, nuzzling up into the crook of his neck, no matter how badly Zoro wanted Sanji to open up and say what was upsetting her, she wasn’t going to. So, he tightened his arms around her and comforted her until eventually, her crying stopped, and she fell asleep.

Zoro’s thoughts were all over the place, but he found himself too exhausted to pay them any mind. He pulled a blanket over their bodies and joined Sanji in a nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I know it was pretty heavy on the lemons, but I can't help myself.   
> Please let me know what you think of the dirty talk and the sex in general, lol. But yeah, since Zoro is inexperienced I tried to make it somewhat realistic for a first time (him cumming in his shorts) haha anyway, I'm just curious to know what everyone thinks.
> 
> Here are my plans for the next few chapters:  
> Next will be in Sanji's POV, then Nami's POV, and then either another Zoro chapter or a chapter for Law's POV.
> 
> Soooo, leave a comment, let me know what you think of this chapter. I love, love, love, seeing all the comments, thanks for reading.
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	8. Being in Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
> 
> This chapter is in Sanji's POV and is mostly smut and some fluff.
> 
> Enjoy~ ;)

She woke up feeling content and blissful, but her memory was hazy. Sanji couldn’t remember where or why she was sleeping in the middle of the day, but she was too comfortable to care about that right now. After she snuggled closer against what was radiating such an incredible amount heat under the blanket, Sanji felt it _move;_ and then the large arms she just realized were wrapped around her body, squeezed her.

Sanji’s brain was suddenly wide awake. Her eyes opened to see the marimo, still looking sleepy, but the corners of his mouth were turned up into a smile. The look Zoro was giving her made her heart begin to pound and Sanji forgot how to breathe. His gray eye was shining and glistening, he was so breathtakingly handsome and all the memories of what happened came flooding back, practically drowning Sanji with emotion.

There were so many things Sanji was trying to wrap her head around, and instead of being able to comprehend all the things Zoro had been saying and doing, Sanji was left more confused than ever. He told her things that no one had ever said to her before. They had incredible sex that admittedly was the best she ever had and left her body sore and aching in all the _right_ places.

The last thing she remembers before falling asleep is that she had been crying, and that Zoro had begged her to tell him what was wrong. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t possibly bring herself to tell him that she wasn’t any of the things he thought she was. That she wasn’t pretty, or perfect, and that Zoro wasn’t the one who didn’t deserve a chance with Sanji, and it was really the other way around.

Zoro was staring at her like he was lost in thought, it made Sanji’s brain begin to freak out.

_Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Holy shit! I don’t even know what the fuck to say or do right now. This is so embarrassing~! I can’t believe we had sex like that and it was the marimo’s first fucking time! And by the way, how the FUCK has this guy never slammed anyone before? He was damn good for a virgin!_

Sanji was still stunned to silence when Zoro brushed her bangs from her face and said, “I could get used to waking up like this.” Furrowing his brow and narrowing his eye, and in that voice that was so _Zoro_ , he told her very seriously, “I love you.”

She felt her lip begin to quiver and her shoulders shook before she finally lost it. Every wall she had built up came crumpling down, and she couldn’t stop herself from breaking down with them. Sanji became a mess of sobs in a split second and found herself desperately wishing she wasn’t so sad and pathetic in the man’s arms.

“Fuck,” Zoro was sitting up in the bed, cradling her against his chest, “Sanji… Fuck, please tell me what’s wrong. Why are you crying, baby?”

Gasping for air, Sanji’s voice broke as she told him, “You’re lying!” Unable to look at him, she only shook her head against his chest and sobbed into his shoulder, “You’re lying, you’re lying, you’re lying!”

For a moment Zoro’s body was frozen beneath hers, until finally he began to stroke the back of her head, petting her hair and whispered, “I’ve never been this serious in all my life.”

The way he said those words made her breath catch in her throat before she made a horrible whine, “What?” Sanji wasn’t expecting that.

Since her crying had ceased, at least for now, Zoro brushed her bangs from her face again, “I never want to lose you, Sanji.”

And there went the waterworks, again. But she couldn’t help it, not when the man who put all others to shame said the one thing Sanji never knew she needed to hear. Her arms were now wrapped around his neck, hugging him as tight as she possibly could. Through her sobs, she asked, “Do you really mean that?”

He sighed contently as he returned the hug, “Of course I do… Those two days I didn’t see you were fucking _terrible.”_ Zoro was now softly kissing her shoulder, “I missed you _so damn much.”_

Sanji made a horribly unattractive snort, the marimo was acting uncharacteristically sweet and sentimental, it was rather odd. She didn’t expect a man like him to say such things, “You could have anyone you want. Why me?”

Suddenly, his body froze under her touch, but before Sanji had time to react he flipped them over and she was pinned on the bed beneath him. His gray eye was dark and serious as he stared down at her from above, “You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted.” Then he captured her lips with his and _damn_ did Zoro know how to kiss her.

It honestly felt like he was _supposed_ to kiss her, Zoro took her breath away. His big, calloused hands were on her face, wiping her tears away. Then when he moved them farther down her body, his touch was soft and gentle, so unlike what she would expect.

Zoro’s lips left feather-light kisses everywhere they went. His large hands were gently gliding across her skin, from her neck, across the expanse of her shoulders, running his thumbs along her collarbone, and down Sanji’s arms. She could feel the roughness of the palms of his hands, but there was nothing rough about the way he touched her.

She was a mess of whimpers and gasps as Zoro caressed her body. This man, who was so damn gorgeous it was unreal, his chiseled body was rock hard with muscles that weren’t just for show— _he_ was touching her own body as if it were made of glass. It was something Sanji had never experienced before.

All the other men Sanji had ever been with were rough with her. They weren’t concerned with how she felt as they fucked, only with themselves and how her body made them feel. She didn’t mind that kind of sex, it was satisfying enough for Sanji to know she was pleasuring her partner. Sanji never expected to be given any extra attention, she didn’t feel like she deserved it.

When she felt his fingertips on her nipples Sanji gasped, _“Zoro…”_

A low groan came from Zoro’s throat, _“Sanji… Fuck.”_ His lips were at the base of her throat, after he kissed his way up her neck, he whispered in her ear, “Let me show you how much you mean to me. Please, I need you, only you—from the moment I saw you singing, I knew you were special. I’ve never felt so drawn to anyone before in my life, no one has ever completely taken over my mind the way you have. I never gave a damn about anyone but my nakama for as long as I can remember, but you mean more to me than _any_ of them. Having you here with me feels so right and I never want it to end. I want you to be mine—please, I’ll prove myself to you, baby. I can see the hurt in your eyes and I know you haven’t been treated the way you deserve. So please, let me show you that I’m serious—that I can treat you better than anyone ever has. I’d rather die a shameful death than hurt you. I don’t ever want to go a day without you. I love you and I always will. Let me make you happy, Sanji, I want to make you feel good.”

His hands were caressing her back, her waist, her hips, her belly, her chest, wherever they could reach while he whispered into her ear. By the time he finished what he had to say, Sanji was crying again.

When Zoro pushed her bangs from her face, he rested his forehead against hers and she could see there were also tears in his eyes. The sight of it made something inside Sanji bubble up, it was unfamiliar, but it wasn’t entirely a _bad_ feeling, certainly unsettling. She was wrapping her mind around everything she knew about Zoro and all the things he said.

_Zoro… Oh my god… What happened to the caveman I met a week ago? How is he able to say so much at once?! And how is it that the most attractive man I have ever SEEN and now had SEX WITH could say these things? About ME? Does he really mean all of this? He’s…crying—almost. Zoro—the world’s greatest swordsman. Crying because…? Because…? Because I doubt him._

Realization hit Sanji and she almost hated herself afterwards. She kissed Zoro and tried to convey her message: that she believed him. But mostly, it felt like such a relief.

She could feel that her entire body craved to be touched by Zoro’s large, rough hands, the way he had been until he looked into her eyes. No one ever touched her the way Zoro did, like she was absolutely precious, like something he cherished. All of her wanted Zoro, and he wanted her back. Sanji never felt that before. Was this what being in love was?

No, being in love was more than that. Being in love was more than sex. It was this constant yearning to be close, that ache in her chest when they were apart, the back of her mind that was always thinking, worrying, and imagining what he was up to. Love was this fullness in her heart when he smiled at her, the look in his gray eye, the way he kissed her back.

 _Oh,_ did the marimo know how to kiss her back. Zoro kissed her, invading her mouth with his tongue, twirling it around hers, rubbing and licking as if it was what he was _born_ to do. Sanji melted underneath his touch into the mattress and moaned against his mouth.

When he pulled away, there was a determined look in his eye and he ducked down between her legs. Sanji propped herself up with her elbows to get a better look at what he was doing.

Fuck, was Sanji glad she did that. The blanket that had been over them fell down Zoro’s back when he knelt between her legs. His fingertips were at her ankles, then began to leave a feather-light trail up the back of her calves. Once he reached her knees, Zoro pushed her legs apart, pressing his palms against the insides of her thighs.

 _“Uuuuhhh!”_ Sanji couldn’t hold back the lewd sound that came from her throat.

Zoro hummed with delight, “Sanji, you smell so _good,”_ she felt his tongue press against her throbbing, sore hole.

Sanji gasped for air, _“Zoro!”_

He groaned with delight, _“Fuck,_ you taste _even_ better.”

It was like Sanji’s floodgates were opened by Zoro’s words, because she could feel herself squirting cum against his face.

 _“Shit… Sanji,_ you _slut.”_ He slipped one of his thick fingers into her, only to immediately pull it out and _lick_ it, sucking it into his mouth and closing his eye, with a moan rumbling in his throat.

The sight of him made Sanji whimper, no words came from her, she was a mess. As Zoro opened his eye and smirked at her, popping his finger from his mouth, she felt herself cum.

He hadn’t even been touching her when it hit, but his thick finger was back inside her along with two softly circling her clit. _“AHHH! ZORO! ZORO! ZORO! AAAAAHH~ AHHH!”_ Sanji was fucking _screaming,_ his touch was so gentle it was _irritating._ But at the same time, it felt so _good._ Her orgasm lasted for over a minute, maybe even two—Sanji couldn’t tell—it was a hell of a lot better than the one she had from her vibrator and her imagination, though.

Zoro _growled, “That’s my girl~, yeah~ baby—cum all over my fingers.”_ His gray eye was on hers as he continued stroking that special spot deep inside her with his finger. So deep, that his knuckles were brushing against her _other_ hole.

 _“Oh my GOD~! Zoro—keep touching my asshole!”_ Sanji felt fucking shameless during the act of intercourse.

When he removed his finger from her, Sanji felt worried that she freaked him out. But then she felt his slick finger softly circling her asshole. Her sex organs felt like they were on _fire._ She knew she was pumping cum out of her cunt as if it was on a factory line—constant, continuous, repetitive.

 _“Holy SHIT! Sanji—FUCK! Baby, you love this so much~ You love being touched by me, don’t you? Tell me,”_ Zoro dropped his head down to her leaking hole and began slurping up all the juices that were puddled there, then kissed her lips open and spit it all into her mouth. As Sanji was swallowing down her own cum, a surprising amount, Zoro kissed along her jaw and whispered into her ear, “ _How does my little slut like the taste of her cum?”_

She opened her eyes, dizzy from lust, Zoro was so fucking sexy, everything about him was everything she wanted. He was still rubbing her clit, her legs were still shaking, and when she met his piercing gaze, she felt herself cum again. _“FUCK! ZORO! YES! I FUCKING LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT!”_

 _“Mmmm, too bad. The rest is for me.”_ Zoro’s touch left her body momentarily, only to grab her ankles and effortlessly flip her body over. His hands pushed her calves forward until her ass was stuck up in the air.

Sanji had the left side of her face against a pillow, turned to see the man who was kneeling behind her.

Zoro’s gaze was between her legs and Sanji watched as his eye turned dark and his grin carnal, _“What a view.”_

She _felt_ rather than saw his fingers glide across her entrance, then they moved higher along her backside. When Zoro’s first slick finger pressed against her puckering hole, Sanji screamed out, _“Ahhhh~ Zoro!”_

He whistled, _“That is one tight hole, baby. Tell me, has anyone ever fucked you in that perfect ass of yours before?”_

Her breath hitched, Sanji could feel Zoro’s thick digit pressing against the first ring of her asshole. Her cunt was quivering, longing for his attention, but it was left untouched. She whined, _“Zoro~ please…”_

 _“Answer me, slut.”_ His voice was commanding but held no anger.

“No! No one has ever _…_ Touched me _there!”_ Okay, maybe she was feeling a little bashful right now.

Something in Zoro’s eye flickered, “Do you want me to stop?”

 _“Fuck! No! Damnit, Zoro! Don’t you DARE fucking stop!”_ Sanji never realized how _amazing_ it felt to be touched there.

That smug smirk that she once found so irritating was on his face, but Sanji didn’t even care. He looked sexy—he was so damn gorgeous—and all because she told him to keep fingering her asshole.

This whole experience, certainly, was new.

Sanji felt Zoro’s finger circling around at her tight exit. Zoro pulled his brows together, _“Shit, Sanji—I’m going to fuck you here someday.”_

Hearing those words of promise made Sanji tighten her muscles. She felt Zoro’s finger slide farther inside of her and he groaned behind her, _“FUCK—you’re sucking me right in. You feel so tight around me, I’ll have to stretch you out before I get to put more than just my fingers inside this tight hole of yours.”_

Zoro’s entire finger was inside of her, filling her in a way Sanji never felt before. When he began to pull back, he had firmly drug his finger down the inner wall of her anus, eliciting a loud moan, _“AAHHHH~! SHIT! ZORO~! AGAIN!”_

He repeated his actions and Sanji began to relax under his touch as he coaxed her asshole and caressed her cheeks apart. _“Oh, baby~ you are such a slut for me. Look what you let me do to you, where you let me touch you.”_

Sanji felt Zoro’s finger leave her and then his hands were on her waist, lifting her up to meet his face. The moment his tongue was on her asshole, Sanji screamed, _“ZORO! FUCK!”_ Then she was moaning and making such lewd noises she almost felt ashamed for it. But god, it seemed to only encourage Zoro to keep doing what he was. His tongue was so far up her ass, Sanji felt paranoid that he would reach something he shouldn’t.

Then his finger was back inside her with his tongue and Sanji felt him press down on a deliciously sweet spot when he did. _“AHHH! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! THERE! RIGHT THERE! FUCK! YES~ FUCK! ZORO! ZORO! FUCK! AAAAHHH~!”_

His mouth moved back down south and Sanji’s pussy was grateful for it. He was still rubbing his finger against that spot in her asshole, but he was now also burying his mouth between her throbbing lips. She was directly cuming into Zoro’s mouth, he was so _close_ and _deep_ inside her.

She crossed her ankles together and tried to squeeze Zoro’s face closer, while also pushing herself up to him with her arms. As close as he was to her, it wasn’t enough. He seemed to understand what she needed and changed his grip around her hips, so he was pulling her body up towards his face.

That was when Sanji experienced the true strength Zoro held in his neck. With so much power and determination, he began to fuck her with his tongue. Bobbing his head up and down as he swirled his tongue around inside of her. Zoro was pressing his face into her cunt and his tongue was greedily lapping up all the fluids that poured out of her core, despite the fact she was upside down.

If you asked her how many times she’d cum, Sanji wouldn’t be able to give an exact answer. She couldn’t tell if she had one _really_ long orgasm, or if she had multiple that gradually got stronger and stronger. Sanji was unable to do anything besides receive the pleasure Zoro was giving her. The muscles in her legs were completely limp and split apart as Zoro’s face was buried between them.

He seemed to be satisfied with what he was able to do to her, because she felt his own cum splatter onto her chest. Knowing that she did that to him made Sanji also feel another orgasm pass through her body—a mutual pride in getting each other off.

Zoro picked her up bridal style and carried her into the bathroom, then sat her down on the toilet. He turned on the faucet for the large bathtub in the corner of the room and began pulling various bottles of soaps from a cupboard behind the door. Once he set them down on the edge of the tub, he opened one of the bottles and poured a generous amount into the steaming water, creating bubbles.

Normally, Sanji would never even consider using the toilet when in the presence of a man, but Zoro had his _tongue_ inside her _asshole_. So, she figured he wouldn’t care if she peed while he was in the bathroom with her. And _he_ was the one who put he on the toilet in the first place. Besides, the sound the water filling the tub would drown out the sound. Okay, she would do this.

After she was finished, Sanji wiped herself, but realized she was far too wet with her cum to properly clean herself with just bath tissue.

She turned around and was about to flush when Zoro called to her, “Don’t flush, I gotta piss, too.”

Sanji furrowed her eyebrow and was about to stand up to protest, but she realized it made no sense to argue with him on this and also because she couldn’t stand. Nervously, Sanji asked him, “Uh, will you help me up? I can’t move my legs.”

His smile took her breath away, “Of course I will.”

As a naked Zoro walked over to where she sat on his toilet, Sanji felt that bubbling in her chest that was still rather unfamiliar. It wasn’t the way he looked that made her feel this way, he looked magnificent. It wasn’t because she felt embarrassed by the situation either.

The best way she knew how to describe it was it felt _natural._ Like it was something that was just so _normal_ for them to be doing together—not just using the bathroom and bathing, but also Zoro doting on her. But more than natural or normal, it felt _wonderful._

When Zoro scooped her up and held her against his chest, he didn’t bring her to the bathtub like she expected. Instead, the marimo began _pissing_ in the toilet, aiming with his right hand while he was holding her in his left arm.

“Ugh, _really?_ You can’t at least put me down _before_ you do that?” This was just ridiculous.

Zoro squeezed her tighter against his body and his lips were curled on one side up into a smirk, “No.”

Sanji sighed in frustration and rolled her eyes, “You are disgusting.”

He breathed hotly against her ear, “You _like it_ when I’m disgusting.”

She gasped, Zoro was finished using the toilet and flushed. Fuck, he was irritating, “I wish I could piss while standing.”

His chest rumbled with his laughter, “Damn, Sanji. I love you.”

The way he said those three little words was like the sweetest music to Sanji’s ears. Hearing Zoro say that he loves her made Sanji incredibly happy. But she couldn’t quite say them back, she wasn’t ready to say them aloud, she wasn’t even ready to accept that ‘love’ was the feeling she had for Zoro. She didn’t know what to say to him, but he made her happy, so she gave him a wide grin.

Zoro’s gray eye softened as he gazed down at her, “I love it when you smile at me like that. It makes my heart pound—feel.” He picked up her left hand and placed her palm on his chest over his heart.

Sanji could indeed tell that his heart was beating rather quickly, but that didn’t mean she knew what to say! She was gazing deeply into his eye, as if that was where she would find the answers. But still, Sanji was left speechless by this incredible man.

Still, he just smiled at her, then walked to the edge of the bathtub and stepped inside. “Water’s pretty warm, do you want to wait ‘till it cools down?”

She actually loved hot baths, Sanji shook her head, “No, it’s fine.”

He lowered them into the water and turned off the faucet, it was nearly splashing over the edge once they were completely settled in the tub. The water _was_ hot, but it felt incredible, especially on her sensitive, aching core.  The bubbles were a nice touch, they smelled nice and she wondered, “Why the hell do you have bubble bath?”

“Oh,” he snorted, “That would be Nami.”

“Ugh! I should’ve known!” He looked confused, so she explained, “You know she was totally setting us up at that party, right?”

Zoro playfully rolled his eye, “I _thought_ she was up to something. She gives me this shit all the time, always was recommending I go to _All Blue,_ get myself a girlfriend. If I’d known that _you’d_ be there…” He sighed, “Well, maybe _this_ could’ve happened sooner.”

Sanji hadn’t expected that, she only knew her side of things. “What exactly is _this?”_ Sanji was laying with her back against his chest, when he flipped her body around and pushed her bangs from her face.

He tilted his head slightly to the left and stared at her, dumbfounded, “Sanji, you are mine. I’m already yours, you had me the moment I saw you.” It was that familiar ‘obviously’ voice of his.

Sanji couldn’t help but laugh at herself, “Okay~ so,” she sighed, “Can I tell people that you’re my boyfriend?”

Her body was shaking with nervousness, and she hadn’t realized she was biting her lip until Zoro tugged it free with his thumb. “For now,” he took her left hand in his right, “But one day I hope to be more.” His fingers slid down her ring finger, as if he was placing a ring there.

Suddenly her throat felt dry, Sanji was gazing into Zoro’s gray eye, feeling so full of emotion that she might explode. So naturally, she got frustrated and yelled at him, “WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO SAY SHIT LIKE THAT, MARIMO?! HUH?!”

Zoro rolled his eye and groaned, “DAMNIT, CURLY BROW! I THOUGHT YOU LIKED SAPPY SHIT LIKE THAT!”

“I DON’T LIKE IT—I LOVE IT—AND I LOVE YOU TOO!” Oh, shit, that just slipped out.

He stared back at her very seriously, “You really mean that?”

Sanji hadn’t really thought about it, but she thinks she did, so she nodded her head.

That seemed to be enough for Zoro. He tightened his arms around her body, leaving ripples across the water. With a content sigh, Zoro kissed her head and whispered against her forehead, “Fuck, Sanji… You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

His voice was low, but there was tenderness in his tone. He sounded relieved and content, and Sanji could feel the strong, even beat of his hear against her chest. “Zoro?”

“Hmm?” He looked down at her expectantly.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, “Do you really want to m-marry me?”

_Damnit! I still stuttered! I must sound like a damn fool!_

Still, Zoro’s smile was sincere and full of admiration, “Yeah, I do.”

Sanji felt so damn happy, she could cry. But instead, she wrapped her arms around Zoro’s neck and decided to kiss him instead.

She had never taken a bath with a man before, but it was rather enjoyable having Zoro shampooing her scalp for her and rinsing all the suds from her hair. He even had conditioner here, probably because of Nami. Sanji was going to have to call her, that was going to be a nightmare.

But for now, she was with Zoro, more specifically being carried from the bathtub with him, “Honestly, you can put me down, now. I can walk.”

As he effortlessly held her with one arm, he dripped water onto the tile floor while he searched the cupboard for a towel and said, “I know I _can,_ but I don’t _want_ to.”

With a content sigh, Sanji wrapped her arms around his neck and muttered, “You really are an idiot, you know that?”

A light chuckle escaped his lips and he wrapped a towel around her, “Whatever.”

Zoro was carrying her back into his bedroom and set her down on the edge of the bed. He had another towel that he used to dry himself off and Sanji couldn’t help herself from watching intently as he wiped water droplets from his perfectly sculpted body.

She hadn’t noticed she was licking her lips until Zoro smiled at her, “Like what you see?”

Sanji hummed a sound of approval before standing from the bed and wrapping her arms around his waist. Her head only came to his chest without any heels on, but Sanji didn’t care, she rested her head against his heart and felt it beating beneath his muscled torso. She nuzzled her face against his scarred flesh, “I love it.”

How could she not? Sanji was a woman who adored men, the kind that looked like they spent the time and energy to work on their physique. Zoro had obviously done _just_ that. His body was rock hard and incredibly strong, his muscles were developed from years of hard work and perseverance. There wasn’t a single part of him that was left neglected to countless hours of intense training.

But don’t think for a second that Zoro’s looks were the only thing that attracted Sanji to him. The standoffish personality of the man also was incredibly alluring, the way he acted like having a conversation was a chore, but still managed to keep it going when he was with her. Zoro wasn’t the type to do something he didn’t want to do, so the fact that he put in so much effort for her was incredibly endearing.

When he lifted her back up into his arms and began to kiss her, Sanji wrapped her legs around him. His palms were on her ass, perfectly spread across them, holding her. Zoro’s tongue was rubbing against her own, making her feel dizzy.

As their lips broke apart and Zoro began to kiss along her jaw, Sanji’s breath caught in her throat, _“Ahhh~ Zoro~…”_

He hummed into her ear, _“Sanji…”_

She melted in his arms, _“Zoro…”_ There was something so relaxing and familiar about his touch, the way he said her name, the way he was there to catch her when he made her body go limp.

His tongue circled around her ear and made her breath hitch. She could feel his smile as he whispered, _“Fuck, I will never get enough of you.”_

Sanji moaned, needy with want, needy for Zoro. _“Please~”_ She was whining, _“Please, I need you, Zoro.”_

A low growl came from him, _“Fuck! YES!”_ Sanji could tell he was now only holding her with one arm, but he was so strong it didn’t make much of a difference. His free hand slid between her legs and once he brushed against her hole he groaned, _“Shit! You are already so wet for me, baby.”_

She whimpered under his touch, _“Zoro~ fuck… You make me so horny~ I want you so bad! I want to feel you inside of me!”_

 _“FUCK! You sound like such a slut when you talk like that.”_ Zoro began rubbing his erection between her legs, _“Tell Zoro how bad you want his dick.”_

Sanji felt herself covering his thick, huge erection with her slick juices, her breathing was heavy and ragged, _“Ahh~! Zoro~! Please~!”_ There weren’t any other words that came to Sanji’s brain as she leaked cum all over him. She was a complete mess in his arms, until finally she screamed, _“I—I AHHH~! I_ NEED _YOU!”_

Another growl ripped through Zoro’s own heavy breathing before he adjusted himself and slowly entered her, _“YES!”_

The sensation of Zoro’s huge cock stretching her back open was _divine._ Sanji was still feeling sore, but the aching became pleasure as he pushed himself inside her. She was completely silent, but her mouth and blue eyes were wide open as she stared up into Zoro’s gray eye.

Once he was completely sheathed inside her, he bit his lip and moaned, _“You look so fucking pretty when I fill you up. You’re so tight around me… Fuck~ baby… You really are such a slut for me, aren’t you, Sanji?”_

Sanji felt her walls clamp down around Zoro as she came. Her hands were on his arms, gripping to him like a vise, and her legs were desperately trying to retain their hold around his hips. _“AAAH! ZORO! YES! YES! YES! I AM SUCH A SLUT FOR YOU! YES! OH~ PLEASE~! PLEASE, ZORO! FUCK ME! PLEASE~!”_

This man was far too good to her; with a pleased grin on his face, he didn’t waste another moment before he grunted with affirmation and began to rock himself out and back inside of her. Sanji immediately began moaning and meeting his thrusts with her hips.

Zoro’s hands were gripping her waist and cupping her ass, moving her body back and forth on his dick. _“Holy… SHIT! Sanji, you are so fucking perfect! I’m never going to let anyone else have you. If anyone tries to touch you, I’ll cut their fucking dick off. You are MINE! You’re Zoro’s slut—no one else’s, EVER!”_

He was rubbing her sweet spot, his head was pressing deep inside, hitting her cervix. Sanji wasn’t used to having sex like this. The way he man-handled her and used his glorious strength to please her instead of hurting and using her, was completely new. Zoro was making the act of sex about _her_ instead of himself.

But she could tell that was what got him off—being able to make her fall apart from his touch. Yeah, Zoro certainly seemed to enjoy watching Sanji as he fucked her, his gray eye was completely black. His sexy gaze was wandering across her body as he rolled his abdomen and thrusted his hips back into her. _“ZORO! GOD… You are so fucking sexy! FUCK! You make me feel so good~”_  

The resulting smirk that he gave her made Sanji’’s breath hitch. _“No one else knew how to treat you. I’m gonna treat you so right, Sanji. You’re my little slut, I’m gonna make sure everyone knows that you’re mine and they can’t have you. I’ll make sure you never want or need anyone else ever again.”_

A final rush and high swept through her body, _“ZORO! ZORO! FUCK! I’M CUMING! I’M CUMING! SHIT! ZORO! AAAAAUUH~! ZORO!”_

 _“UUHHH! SANJI! SANJI! FUCK~ SO AM I!”_ He thrust himself into her one last time and greedily pulled her body to his. She could feel him twitch inside her and find his release, filling her with his seed.

When Zoro pulled out, Sanji could feel their cum leaking from her and was happy that they hadn’t drained the water from the tub. “Shit… I need to clean myself off again.”

His breath was evening out from his previous exertions, “Huh, yeah, me too.”

Without another word, Zoro walked back into the bathroom with Sanji in his arms and set her down in the bathtub. The water was rather cool, but it was fine to sit in just to clean her lady parts.

Zoro ended up using the sink to clean his dick off. Once he was finished he grabbed their towels and used his to dry himself. As he was watching Sanji clean herself in the tub, he asked, “So, uh… Are you on birth control?”

“Huh?” Sanji stared at him like he had two extra heads, “Yeah, of course! I would’ve made you wear a condom, but since you’re a virgin I assumed you must be clean, and I don’t have anything, so…yeah.”

“Oh,” he frowned, almost looked upset, “Okay, well that’s…good.”

_God, the guy is probably paranoid about knocking me up._

She sighed, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to get pregnant.”

He was gently nodding his head, looking like he was lost in thought. When Sanji was about to ask Zoro what was wrong he ended up beating her to it, “I want to, though.”

Her eyes widened, “WHAT?!”

His cheeks were turning pink and he scratched the back of his head, something he did when he was nervous, “Sorry—I just… I’d like to someday, you know?”

Honestly, Sanji didn’t know what to say to that. She was still trying to comprehend the fact that Zoro was interested in her, but Zoro was talking about marrying her and having kids. They were on completely different levels, Sanji needed to slow this down, “Umm, yeah maybe like, in a really _really_ long time, okay?”

She was drying herself off with the towel Zoro had given her and was trying to ignore his piercing gaze. Luckily, he didn’t say anything else on the matter and instead mentioned, “It’s almost six, do you want to go somewhere for dinner?”

As tempting as that idea was, Sanji shook her head, “Nah, I can cook something. I brought quite a bit of food.”

That seemed to make Zoro rather happy, he began to smile excitedly, “That’ll be two of my three meals made by my favorite cook, today.”

Sanji appreciated the compliment and smiled at Zoro. She was dressing herself in the blush lingerie she had been wearing earlier, Sanji could feel his gaze as she pulled the pink dress back over her body but tried to ignore it. Once she was back in her clothes, she went back to the kitchen and started dinner.

Zoro’s kitchen was surprisingly nice, she enjoyed cooking in it—there was a lot of counter space and he had a gas stove. She felt rather domesticated as she made them dinner, almost like this was something they always had done. After eating together, Sanji washed the dishes while Zoro dried them again. If Sanji was being honest, she wouldn’t mind doing this all the time.

They ended up on the couch in Zoro’s living room, watching some reruns of a show they both liked. Sanji was sitting between his legs, his arms were wrapped around her, and her head was resting against his chest. His embrace was warm and comforting, Sanji wished she could stay there forever.

When Zoro yawned loudly behind her, Sanji turned around to face him, “I can go—let you get some sleep.” It was already past nine at night.

His arms tightened around her, “You don’t have to.”

Sanji gave him a sweet smile, “Really, it’s fine. We can see each other tomorrow if you don’t have any plans.”

Zoro’s gray eye was shining as he gazed into her eyes, Sanji never did fix her hair after they had bathed, and her bangs had dried pushed out of her face. Despite the fact her weird eyebrows were on full display, she didn’t mind, not when she was with him. Then he asked her, “Could I come to your place?”

“Uhhh,” Sanji was thinking about all the memories she had with Law at her apartment and explained, “I don’t know…my place is kind of a mess and I don’t really like spending time there.”

He nodded his head, seeming to understand, “Maybe another time.” Zoro yawned again, “Sorry, I guess I’m more exhausted than usual.” The chuckle that came from him was absolutely adorable, it made Sanji’s heart feel full and his smile was infectious, “Fucking you is a really great workout.”

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, but couldn’t stop herself from smiling, “I’m glad I was able to help you with your training, marimo~.” Sanji gave him a kiss on the tip of his nose and hopped off the couch.

As she was gathering her things and getting ready to leave, Zoro watched her with a rather grumpy expression. Once she was at the door, he pulled her into his body for a hug and whispered, “You should just move-in with me.”

Sanji felt like she couldn’t breathe, and it wasn’t because of the tight embrace he had on her. When he let her go, she still couldn’t manage to find any words to say.

Zoro was still smiling at her, albeit a little disappointed, “Think about it, okay?”

She was staring up at him with her mouth half-open but managed to nod.

He caressed her face in his hand and gave her a soft, gentle kiss. After pulling away in reluctance, he smiled at her again, “I’ll walk you downstairs.”

It felt like Zoro was trying to get as much time with her as possible before she left. There was a part of her that wanted to stay—spend the night—but she knew this was the more practical and reasonable thing to do. Today was the first day they ever really spent together, and as wonderful as the day was, Sanji knew she wasn’t in her right mind around him.

Just like he said he would, Zoro walked Sanji downstairs to a back door in his dojo, it led to the alleyway that was shared with her restaurant. She turned to him with a smile but still didn’t really know what to say.

Zoro ended up kissing her, licking her lips open and forcing his tongue into her mouth. The force of it nearly knocked her off her feet, but Zoro’s hands were on her waist, holding her firmly in place. Sanji moaned into his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck, having dropped her bag on the ground beside her.

Their kiss lasted longer than was probably appropriate, but neither of them seemed to be able to get enough. When they finally broke apart, they both were panting for air.

His smile was soft and sweet, “I love you, Sanji. See you tomorrow, same time?”

Sanji bit her lip nervously as she nodded, “Have a good night, Zoro.”

If Zoro minded that she didn’t say she loved him back, he didn’t show it. He just picked her bag up, handing it to her, and leaving a kiss on her cheek, “You too, baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! So, I've been working on this chapter for the past few days and am finally satisfied. I hope you all enjoyed, I honestly loved writing this chapter and thought it was a lot of fun... *clears throat* ANYWAY...  
> The next chapter should come out in the next day or two, I already have a good bit of it written because I had so many ideas for Nami's chapter that I had to start it before I finished this one. But yeah, Nami's chapter is next.  
> I know there has been a lot of interest in a chapter for Law, and don't worry there will be a chapter for Law and you will all love it, but there will be AT LEAST two more chapters until then: Nami's and then Zoro will have another chapter after that. If and only if the story is ready for Law's chapter will his be next.  
> So yeah, that's all I've got to say about THAT...  
> If any of you finished reading this chapter and were like "Oh my god, Zoro is moving way too fast" ... Well, that is kinda the point in this plot and you will learn more about it in the next chapter.  
> As always, thanks for the comments and please continue to leave them. I really appreciate all the feedback. It helps me write more of what people are interested in reading about. 
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	9. Nami's Master Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
> 
> This chapter is in Nami's POV and contains the final flashback of the engagement party.
> 
> Haha, sooo I stayed up all night and finished this chapter. I wasn't planning on it, but it happened, so here you go, enjoy~!

It was Sunday morning, Nami was relaxing on the couch at the upscale apartment she shared with her fiancé, Vivi, who was snuggled up against her.

The sound of her phone ringing on the coffee table made them both jump, the calm atmosphere had been broken. When Nami picked it up she saw who it was from: Sanji.

A devious smile formed on her lips as she answered, putting the call on speakerphone and returning her phone to the table, “Yes?” She was expecting this.

Nami heard a loud, long sigh before, “Nami, you were right.”

“Oh?” She raised her perfectly manicured eyebrow, looking at Vivi because she knew the other woman wouldn’t see it over the phone. “What exactly was I right about, hmm?” Nami was going to get every, last word out of her friend, no matter what.

“Ugh!” Nami could tell Sanji was rolling her gorgeous blue eye, god if the woman wasn’t straight she would’ve tried to get her for herself. But she had Vivi, and no one could compare to Vivi, who had the cutest smile on her perfect face as she listened to the conversation. Again, there was a long sigh, “You were right about everything.”

*Flashback*

It was the night of her and Vivi’s engagement party—the one Sanji _insisted_ on planning for them. If they didn’t need to invite so many people, Nami would’ve done it herself, but Sanji was always good at planning parties and entertaining, so Nami had welcomed the help.

Since her and Vivi were in real estate together, they had lots of connections and friends from all over the world. Adding on the fact that Vivi’s father holds a high government office makes for a very extensive guestlist and the need to impress. Vivi and Nami could stage a house just fine but throwing a huge party for some of the richest and most famous people in the world was something that Sanji was much more adept at handling.

When a little over a week before the party, Sanji had called her and told her that the asshole she’d been sleeping with for the past couple years cheated on her, she suggested setting her up with Zoro. Since then, Nami was eagerly waiting for tonight to play cupid on the two people she had been wanting to get together for as long as she had known Sanji.

Nami had been wandering around Vivi’s father’s place, mingling with guests, watching her nakama arrive in pairs and sit together. Since there was someone still missing, Nami had continued her antics.

_Of course, he is late. He probably got lost, again. That idiot, I gave him directions, too._

Eventually, the next time Nami looked over at the table her nakama were gathered at, she saw the familiar green hair that belonged to Zoro.

With a large grin on her face, Nami arrived at their table to greet them, “Hey everyone! I’m so happy you could make it!” For once in his life, Zoro looked like the gentlemanly, put-together, and accomplished man he was. The tuxedo he wore was obviously custom-made, Nami even told him, “You look good! I’m impressed how well you clean up, Zoro.”

But, alas, he _was_ still Zoro and grunted, “You said it was black-tie. I’m not such an idiot to show up underdressed.”

Oh _god,_ he was irritating. Under normal circumstances, she would bash his scull in, but Nami was at a classy party at her future-father-in-law’s mansion with a bunch of important people. So, she sighed and shook her head at him, “Whatever, I’m just glad you are  _finally_ here and presentable.” She couldn’t help but give the guy a hug, he looked absolutely perfect for her to pull off her plan, “Thanks for coming.”

“You’re welcome,” Nami could tell by the way he grumbled his words, he was uncomfortable, but she didn’t give a shit. He was just as dependable as always, one of the reasons he was perfect for Sanji.

When she straightened herself from hugging Zoro, she had to pull the bottom of her dress down around her thighs. Luckily, it was her nakama and they didn’t care if she did this in front of them, “One of my best friends from college is going to be performing in a bit. I will introduce everyone to her later.” Mostly, she wanted to introduce her to one person in particular, but they were all kind of a package-deal anyway. Robin had met Sanji before and agreed with Nami that she would like Zoro, but still she asked her, “You remember Sanji, right?”

The older woman’s blue eyes lit up and Nami knew Robin already guessed what she was up to, “Yes, of course!”

What a wonderful reaction, “Yeah, well I need to go find her—see you!” She waved to her nakama and began searching for her blonde friend.

_Damn! Zoro looks fucking GOOD! It’s the tuxedo—he doesn’t look so sloppy—it makes him look sophisticated and refined. I’m certainly not into men, but I know someone who~ is~_

She needed to find Sanji, there was no way Nami would let this party and occasion go to waste.

Nami had known for _years_ that Sanji would fall head-over-heels in love for Zoro as soon as she met the guy. That was just how Sanji was, she was _really into_ buff guys. Back in college there were too many guys to count that Sanji would go into her all-out flirt mode and ended up sleeping with. All of them were assholes—just like the last guy, Law.

_Honestly, though, who the FUCK would cheat on Sanji? She is the second prettiest girl I have ever seen—right after Vivi. On top of her looks though, Sanji is one of the most passionate people I’ve ever met. She has a big heart that is filled with a lot of love, but all the guys she tries to give it to are fucking dicks!_

Although she never met Law, she heard a lot about him from Sanji, and Nami was not a fan. It wasn’t a real relationship, Nami knew it, Law probably knew it, and she desperately had tried to get Sanji to realize it. Whenever Sanji talked about him, it was usually about how he never talked to her and all they did was have sex. It was really just Sanji’s bitching that she wasn’t able to tell Law because they never talked to each other.

It was fucking frustrating.

And it was even _more_ frustrating that every time she talked to Zoro he was _still_ single and _still_ had never visited the restaurant right next to his dojo—no matter how many times he told him to go there.

Because if any woman could make Roronoa Zoro fall in love it would be Sanji. She was beautiful, elegant, sophisticated, dainty—but behind all that she had a personality that was like being swept up into a whirlwind.

Not in a bad way—god no! It was just overwhelming at times how considerate and thoughtful she could be. But at the same time, if you ever pissed her off she would come down upon you with the fires of hell.

As for Zoro—he was flawlessly loyal. Yeah, the guy was a stubborn idiot, but he cared about them—their nakama. And when Zoro cared about someone, he would do just about anything to make sure they were happy. Nami knew that he didn’t care that he wasn’t in a relationship and never had been, but _she_ cared.  

‘Cause damn, did Zoro deserve to get laid—always so tightly wound like a spring, ready to snap at anything and everything that irritated him. The man was absolutely fucking hopeless when it came to that sort of thing. He either had absolutely no idea how to tell if someone was flirting with him _or_ he literally gave no fucks. Because ever since they were kids Zoro was muscular from his training, so that resulted in a lot of girls and boys alike admiring him. If any of them ever tried to approach him, he was such a dense idiot that he dismissed it as if it was nothing. No one ever interested Zoro, so it was obvious he just needed to meet someone who could do it effortlessly.

She found Sanji in the kitchen, _of course,_ and pulled her out of there into one of the nearby rooms that guests were not allowed in.

“Nami? What the _fuck?”_ Sanji was fucking _pissed,_ “This better be important. I was instructing someone to cook more food. It has been going like _crazy,_ especially the _meat!”_

Her face paled, “Uh, well the meat thing is probably Luffy, you see, he and Ace both eat _A LOT_ of food. This whole buffet is like a dream come true for them.”

“Oh, Luffy is here?!” Sanji suddenly got excited, “Whenever he is in Raftel, he stops at _All Blue.”_ Then she got slightly more serious, “He does eat a lot, that’s why I love when he comes, his bill is half the sales for the _week.”_

_Oh, good she is distracted, no longer angry._

“So~ Sanji. Do you remember the conversation we had after you left Law?” Nami wasn’t going to beat around the bush.

Sanji groaned, “Come on, Nami. There is no way I will be set up with one of your childhood friends. You know—the same ones that you talked about all throughout college—the ones you consider your nakama?”

 _“Why~?”_ Nami’s voice was a whine.

Sighing, Sanji told her, “It would be so _awkward,_ and when he doesn’t like me I will never be able to be around them again.”

Nami rolled her eyes, “Sanji, why _wouldn’t_ he like you? What’s not to like? You’re amazing!”

Sanji was glaring at her, “Nami, I love you, but no.”

“I _know_ what you’re thinking, Sanji. You’re _thinking_ he lives in some far-off place across the world.” The gorgeous blonde’s eyebrow twitched before she added, “He actually runs the dojo in Raftel.”

That seemed to get her attention, “You mean the one next to my restaurant?”

“Yeah. That one.” Nami felt quite smug seeing the look of anger on Sanji’s face become curious, but then it changed to horror.

“Nami, I can’t meet this guy! There is no way the world’s greatest swordsman would be interested in me! Now every time we run into each other it will be awkward!” Sanji looked like her blue eye might pop out of her head at any moment.

If she didn’t need her to go up on stage and look pretty, Nami would’ve bashed her skull in to knock some sense into her. Instead, she placed her hands on Sanji’s shoulders and looked into her eye, “You have owned that restaurant for two years and have never run into each other. The worst thing that could happen is he doesn’t say more than two words to you.”

Still looking horrified, Sanji squeaked, “That sounds awful.”

After rolling her eyes, Nami reminded her, “But is it as bad as what Law did?”

Sanji scowled, “No.”

Nami gave her an encouraging smile, “I’ve known him for a long time, I know he is your type, and I know that he doesn’t open up easily to people, but underneath the scowl and standoffish attitude is a really sweet guy.”

“Yeah, okay~ he is a sweet guy and then what? Nothing else?” Sanji looked disheartened.

She really didn’t like to see her friend like this, “He isn’t the kind of guy to half-ass something, Sanji. He will either be all in or all out. He’s one of those obsessively-loyal and committed people. I mean—he’s the world’s greatest swordsman.”

Sanji seemed to think about what she said until she asked, “Which one of your nakama is he?”

Her smile turned mischievous, “Not telling.”

A scowl formed on her friend’s gorgeous face, “Nami, that is so unfair!”

“Figure it out yourself, but you don’t have much time.” She looked confused, so Nami told her, “You need to go and sing.”

Nami could tell she was irritated with her, but she didn’t say anything to protest. So, she led them from the room, only to have Sanji stomp past her, heels clicking, and her head held high.

Within five minutes she was up on stage singing that first song. Nami had spotted Zoro by the bar standing frozen, staring at Sanji with his drink held halfway to his open mouth.

_Oh my god~! This is even better than I could’ve imagined~! I have NEVER seen Zoro look at ANYONE like that! He looks like he has never seen a pretty girl before, that jackass! Whatever, as long as he thinks Sanji is attractive, that’s all that matters._

Zoro finally tossed the contents of the glass back, then ended up lowering his hand and walked to the table with the rest of their nakama.

After spotting a pitcher of water she made her way over to her friends, when she was stopped by her fiancé, “Nami, who exactly are you planning on dumping that water on?”

“What? No! That’s not—Vivi, look at Zoro.” She pointed to the green-haired muscle-man and the way he was fixated on her gorgeous, fit yet curvy, petite blonde best friend.

 _“Oh~,_ well now this _is_ interesting.” Vivi looked at Nami hesitantly, “What’s with the pitcher of water then?”

Nami furrowed her eyebrows, “His glass of sake is empty. I want to pour water in it before he notices.”

A huge grin spread across Vivi’s face, and it reminded Nami why she was so excited to be marrying this woman, “Nami, you are brilliant. We are finally going to set them up tonight.”

Smiling back, Nami nodded at her gorgeous fiancé, then pulled her in for a tender kiss.

Filling Zoro’s glass with water without him noticing was actually a lot easier than Nami first expected. He was so absorbed in the song that she almost wondered if he would notice if she _did_ pour the water on him.

She and Vivi sat in the two empty chairs that were beside Zoro. Once the first song was over, Nami leaned over to tell Zoro, “That’s my friend Sanji. I met her back in college, isn’t she great?”

_Oh. My. God. Zoro won’t even look away from her. At least he has the decency to nod his head, that means he at least heard me._

As Sanji continued singing the horribly sappy and romantic songs that were _so_ perfect for the occasion, Nami was watching Zoro drink his glass of water, seeming not to realize it wasn’t strong alcohol. So far, everything was going _amazing._

When Sanji finished the last song, Nami waved to her to get her attention. If Sanji was nervous or pissed about what Nami was doing, she didn’t show it as she walked over to their table. Beside her, Nami could tell that Zoro had turned away, but she didn’t miss Sanji’s blue eye looking at him.

Nami jumped up, excited to finally have these two meet and wrapped her arms around her friend, “Sanji~! That was  _amazing_!  _You_  are amazing! Thank you,  _so much_!”

Sanji always gave the best hugs and squeezed her back, “Oh, my dearest Nami, it was my  _pleasure!_  You know I’d do  _anything_  for you two!”

 _That_ was the reason she was doing this, Nami gave Sanji a knowing look, “You have already done  _so much!_  I wish there was a way for me to repay you with something other than money.”

But Sanji was shaking her head in refusal, “Really, there is no need. You and Vivi are two of my  _dearest_  friends, you’re already paying me too much. I would  _refuse_ payment, but that’s not good for business.”

Vivi really was her other half, because she seemed to know that Nami was about to explode at Sanji if she didn’t interfere, “Aww~” Vivi put herself between them by giving Sanji a quick hug, “That’s really  _so_  sweet of you, Sanji. I don’t know  _what_  Nami and I would do without you. But~”

“But~ nothing!” Sanji was trying to get them to stop with a deadly glare, probably pissed that they were ganging up on her.

Nami wasn’t afraid of that look, she knew Sanji would never do anything to her, she’d never hit another woman. As she stared back into Sanji’s blue eye with a challenging look, she saw her glance at Zoro.

_I knew she would think he’s hot._

She knew there was a huge grin on her face, but she didn’t care, “Sanji, you’ve met some of my friends from my hometown before, right?”

Sanji nodded her head, “I’ve met Robin, of course~,” she did her characteristic ‘Sanji’ wave that was just of so feminine, “Hello, Robin dear!” When she pointed at Luffy she had that smile that could steal anyone’s heart in a second, “And you, Luffy. How’s my  _favorite customer_ doing~?”

Then there was Luffy, who was completely oblivious to female charm and smiled like the idiot he was, “Great!”

It was still enough to make Sanji go all heart-eyes on her. Seriously, this woman would probably jump off a cliff if a guy wanted her to. After rolling her eyes at her friend’s antics, she turned to her nakama, “Okay, well everyone, this is Sanji.” Nami had wanted them to meet Sanji for such a long time and it was finally happening. She considered Sanji her nakama even though she didn’t know the rest of them. She wanted them all to know how much Sanji meant to her and how great of a friend she was, “She is  _amazing_ , like—a true goddess. She is pretty much the brains of this entire night. She did  _all_  the planning, the decorations, the food—and  _sang_  of course! This party wouldn’t be anything if it wasn’t for Sanji and her  _absolute passion_ to entertain—Vivi and I are just the ones who pay the bill.”

She didn’t care if Sanji didn’t want to be bragged about, she deserved to be bragged about, because Nami was _so_ lucky to have a friend like her. Sanji didn’t cuss her out for it this time, “Oh hush, just tell me who is who, so I have a face to put to all the stories you’ve told me.”

Nami couldn’t help but laugh, Sanji was probably going crazy, wondering if Zoro was the guy she wanted to set her up with, since she couldn’t stop inadvertently glancing over to him, “Okay, okay, relax!” Starting with a familiar face, Nami introduced them clockwise, “This is Robin and her boyfriend Franky. Then there’s Usopp and his wife Kaya. Sabo and his girlfriend, Koala. Ace and his husband, Marco. Luffy and his boyfriend, Kid.” With a playful smile, Nami hugged Zoro’s shoulder and shook him, “And this is Zoro—he’s perpetually single.”

Their eyes met and Nami watched with anticipation over what would happen, who would speak first. _Of course,_ it was Sanji, “ _You’re_  the one who always gets lost!”

Everyone at the table burst into laughter.

 _OH MY GOD! IS THAT_ REALLY _WHAT SHE REMEMBERS ABOUT HIM THE MOST?!_

A deep blush flooded Zoro’s tan face before he scowled at Sanji, “What was that, curly brow?”

 _OH SHIT! HE SHOULDN’T HAVE SAID THAT! HE SHOULD_ NOT _HAVE SAID THAT!_

Nami recognized Sanji’s bitch face, “Did you get lost on the way here too, marimo?”

The look on Zoro’s face was priceless. He was no longer looking at her in the same awe-struck way he had been earlier when she was singing. Zoro looked like he was seeing her for the first time all over again, but Nami could recognize the admiring look in his eye.

Across the table, Sabo began to laugh, “He called me asking for directions.”

Zoro must’ve glared at Sabo for ratting him out, because as soon as he turned to him, he began laughing harder.

_So, he WAS lost!_

That was just plain irritating, “Hey! I gave you  _very_ specific directions on how to get here!”

Suddenly, Luffy yelled, “Oi, Sanji! Did you really cook all this yummy food?!”

Once again, Sanji was swooning over the idiot with a blackhole for a stomach, “Well~ my workers did! My restaurant catered, so all the recipes are my own.”

Since everyone was being their usual-selves and striking up a conversation with Sanji, Nami didn’t berate Zoro anymore. She certainly had done plenty of that over the years trying to get them to meet sooner. For now, she would see where this would lead.

“I love the flowers, roses are so~ romantic,” Kaya _would_ bring up the flowers, she loves them almost as much as she loves that idiot, Usopp. Koala was certainly seemed to make Sabo happy as she smiled next to him, nodding at Kaya’s comment. Nami had never seen him look at someone like that, not even Ace or Luffy.

“Shishishi, they look like Kid’s hair,” Luffy, that idiot. _Of course,_ he _would_ compare a beautiful, romantic flower to his boyfriend’s hair.

_He just has a thing for the color red._

Kid was rather unamused, “Good thing there’s plenty of food here. Keeps someone distracted.”

 _Great,_ now Ace got a bright idea, “Yeah! Lu, we should get some more food later!”

Luffy never looked happier as he nearly punched Kid and Marco in their faces as he thrust his fists into the air, yelling, “Yosh!”

Marco dodged it and sighed in relief, “Make that two someone’s, yoi.” He held up two fingers, how that man fell for Ace, Nami will never know, but she assumed a lot of it had to do with his ripped body. Either way, it didn’t matter, they were happily married to each other for nearly five years now.

Robin always found these guys entertaining and laughed in that delicate, gentle way that was just so _Robin,_ “Do you still work at the  _Baratie_ , Sanji? Is that who catered?”

This was Nami’s chance to shine, “Sanji owns her own restaurant now, they’re who catered.”

Marco continued the conversation by asking rather curiously, “How old are you? If you don’t mind my asking. You just seem so young to have your own restaurant, yoi.”

Damn, Sanji was a sucker even for a gay, married man’s compliment, “I’m twenty-six.”

“WOW!” Franky shouted, “That is SUPER impressive!” How Robin fell in love with idiot, Nami would never know.

Now _there_ was a man Sanji acted normal around, “Thank you, I actually opened it a couple years ago, though.”

“What’s the name of your restaurant?” Sabo asked her in his polite tone of voice.

“It’s the  _All Blue_ , in Raftel,” Sanji looked so proud when she told them that. Nami knew how much her restaurant meant to her.

Then Usopp shouted, “Oi! Zoro lives in Raftel!” Her plan was falling into place.

As all eyes went to Zoro, he grumbled, “What’re you all looking at?”

With a pleased smile across her lips, Nami teased, “Oh yeah~! Zoro, have you ever been to Sanji’s restaurant?”

She knew the answer to this question, she asked him if he had gone to _All Blue_ yet every time they spoke to each other for the past _two years._ But she wanted the satisfaction of hearing him say it now knowing Sanji had been there this entire time, “No, I haven’t.”

After her and Zoro exchanged a knowing look, Nami turned to Sanji, “You know~, Zoro couldn’t stop staring at you while you were singing, Sanji.” She was simultaneously teasing Zoro while also giving Sanji the encouragement she needed to do her thing, “He didn’t even realize we filled his drink with water.”

This whole situation could’ve gone a lot worse, but all Zoro did after taking another drink of water was say “Shit,” under his breath.

Sanji ended up laughing at him, making Zoro blush even further, but it didn’t stop him from watching the gorgeous blonde as she laughed. He didn’t even seem to mind that she was laughing at _him._ Zoro was actually smiling in a way he _never_ smiled.

When Sanji got control of herself, she teasingly asked in her flirtiest tone of voice, “Is that so~?”

All of her nakama were silent at the table as Sanji _very obviously_ checked Zoro out. Nami knew that everyone was watching the two as they interacted with one another. There was something about it that made her feel on edge, the physical attraction between them was so obvious, it wouldn’t surprise Nami if they devoured each other right then and there.

Finally, Sanji broke the silence, “So, you’re here without a date.”

Zoro waved his hand in his frustrated and irritated way, Nami rolled her eyes at his stupidity.

“Huh, I didn’t bring a date either,” Thank god, Sanji was incredibly practiced at picking up guys, “Would you like to get another drink with me?”

Nami had never seen Zoro stand up so fast. Kid actually started laughing to himself. But when he told her, “Sure,” he didn’t sound as nervous as he looked.

They all watched as Sanji linked her arm with Zoro’s and walked up to the bar to get those drinks.

And who else would break the silence that lingered over them other than Luffy, “I think Zoro likes Sanji.”

Robin giggled, “I think you’re right, captain.” Since Luffy was the youngest of them growing up, he had insisted on being called ‘captain’ by them, to show him that they respected him as the one who called the shots on their adventures.

“I’ve never seen Zoro act like that before, have any of you?” Franky hadn’t been around them as long, he and Robin had been together for a few years.

“What part exactly?” Sabo questioned, “The fact that he couldn’t stop staring at her while she was singing, or like he was embarrassed for being called out on it?”

“Oh, come on guys,” it was Kid who said this, “Not even Zoro would be immune to a babe like that.”

“That’s _exactly_ what I thought!” Nami didn’t care that Kid thought her friend was a ‘babe’ when he wasn’t the one she wanted to be interested in her. Sanji _was_ a babe.

“Hey~!” Luffy pouted at his boyfriend, “I know she’s pretty, but what about me?”

Kid rolled his eyes, “What about you?”

“Hey! Don’t talk to my little brother like that!” Ace yelled at Kid while pointing an accusing finger at him.

Obviously not wanting to deal with the hellfire that was Ace, Kid turned to Luffy and said, “You are the prettiest, babe.”

When they began to make out with each other, Nami turned away in disgust, “Gross! Go do that somewhere else!”

Vivi tapped on Nami’s shoulder to get her attention and pointed. When Nami turned to look at what she was pointing at, she saw Zoro and Sanji standing near the bar. They were talking, and both of their facial expressions were changing with nearly everything they said, as if they kept irritating each other, then surprising the other, or coming to terms with what was said.

“They look good together,” Koala suddenly said, “I don’t really know anything about Sanji other than what you said, Nami, but she seems like she has caught Zoro’s eye.”

“I agree,” Kaya was partaking in girl-talk, “Zoro doesn’t usually smile like that.”

“Lu—let’s get more food!” Ace was never the type to talk about mushy stuff like this.

“Okay~!” Luffy got up from his chair then he and Ace were _sprinting_ to the food.

Nami wanted to stay and watch, but she couldn’t, not when there were two maniacs about to eat all the food they could shovel into their stomachs. She stood up from her chair and was about to follow after them, when Vivi stopped her, “Let them be, Nami.”

When she glanced down at her beautiful, blue-haired fiancé, she couldn’t help but smile, “Okay, but just this once.” Then she sat back down and gave her a soft kiss on her plump lips.

Robin asked, “Have you two decided on a wedding date yet?”

Nami turned to her older friend, “No, not yet. But we are thinking late summer.”

“That way the ceremony can be outside by the ocean and it won’t be freezing!” Vivi giggled and squeezed Nami’s hand while she sat beside her.

The raven-haired woman smiled kindly, “That will be so beautiful.”

 _“Oh my god`!”_ Koala squealed excitedly, “Sabo, I love this song, can we please dance?”

Sabo was grinning at his new girlfriend, “Yeah, sure!”

They walked off to the dancefloor, looking so in love with each other. Nami sighed, dreamily, _“They_ look good together.”

Kaya, Usopp, Franky, Robin, Vivi, Marco, and even Kid all nodded in agreement.

“Hey, Kaya, do you want to dance, too?” Usopp sweetly asked his wife that was, in Nami’s opinion, way out of his league. But it was the things like this that he would do for her that made Nami happy they were together. Kaya had a really gorgeous smile on her face as she nodded to Usopp and they also went to the dancefloor.

“Robin?” Franky held his hand out to her in a ridiculous way, “Would you grant me this dance?”

All of it made her giggle, “Okay.” Nami would never understand their relationship.

As Robin and Franky left the table, Vivi turned to Marco and Kid, “You two end up being left alone together quite often, don’t you?”

Kid scoffed, “You could say that.”

“If it wasn’t for me, you would probably go on a complete rampage out of boredom,” Marco coolly stated.

“THE REASON I’M BORED IS CAUSE I’M WITH YOU!” Kid was pretty easy to get agitated.

Nami and Vivi decided to leave those two alone together and ended up spotting Sanji walking towards the kitchen.

They exchanged knowing looks and followed after her. By the time they caught up to Sanji, they were nearly to the kitchen. Nami called to her, “Sanji!”

The blonde woman turned around, her blue eye shining, “Nami? Vivi?”

The couple smiled at their friend and dragged her into another room where they were alone. It seemed that Vivi was more eager than Nami because as soon as she closed the door, she spun around and asked, “Well? How’d it go?”

Sanji appeared to be just as shocked by her question, then scowled, “Honestly, the guy acted like a cocky bastard until I called him a shitty swordsman.”

Both Nami and Vivi gasped, _“YOU SAID WHAT?!”_

She shrugged, “What?”

“You _do_ realize how incorrect that statement is, right?” Nami asked, seriously wondering if Sanji understood what it meant to be the greatest in the world.

“Well, he told me I was a shitty cook!” Sanji’s tone was whiny, Nami rarely ever heard her talk in such a way. “I mean~” she was still whining, “He didn’t even ­ _try_ my food!”

Vivi picked up on it sooner than Nami did, “It sounds like you want him to like your cooking, Sanji~”

That blue eye of hers was giving her fiancé a death glare, Nami would rather have it be directed at herself, “Vivi is right, Sanji. _I_ think you liked him.” Sanji turned to her with a blush forming on her cheeks, “He _definitely_ liked you too. I bet he’ll come to your restaurant _now._ And I _know_ he won’t be satisfied until you’re his.”

“Honestly, Nami,” Sanji shook her head, “I doubt that’s going to happen. He hasn’t been to my restaurant because he thinks it’s _snobby._ That idiot will come once, just because I dared him to, and then we will go on with our lives as strangers.”

 _“Oh~ no you won’t!”_ Nami wasn’t going to stand for this, “Honestly, do you think that it is just a coincidence that your restaurant is beside his dojo?”

She waited with an expectant look as realization washed over Sanji, “Don’t tell me…”

Nami nodded her head, Sanji had put it together—that Nami had purposefully sold Sanji that property lot. She didn’t appreciate the look of betrayal in Sanji’s eye and pleaded with her, “I’ve been wanting you two to meet each other for _years.”_

“But _why?”_ Sanji appeared desperate to know.

With a sigh, Nami simply said, “Because I knew you two would be perfect for each other.”

*End Flashback*

“So~” Nami dramatically paused before saying, “You’ve finally called me after a _week_ that I was right about _everything,_ but that could mean _anything,_ Sanji.”

“Oh my god… Nami~, please don’t do this to me right now.” Sanji sighed loudly over the other end of the phone, she and Vivi were silently giggling as they listened to Sanji say, “Fine! Zoro is _totally_ my type and actually _is_ a sweet guy. Happy?”

“Thank you, now was that so hard?” Nami teased.

“Nami! Listen to me,” Her voice was panicky, very unusual for Sanji.

That made Nami pay attention and say, “I’m listening…”

After a long sigh, Sanji slowly explained, “He came to my restaurant every day this week for dinner and listened to me sing on Monday and Tuesday. I lost my voice and couldn’t talk for two days, so I didn’t actually see him, but he still came to the restaurant and ordered the same thing he had before… Anyway, on Friday we ended up kissing and then yesterday I went to his dojo and he ended up telling me that he loved me!”

 _“WHAT?!”_ Both her and Vivi ended up shouting at the same time.

“Yeah, I know! Now shut up! I’m not _nearly_ to the shitty shit yet.” Uh oh, that didn’t sound good. They both were quiet as Sanji continued, “Anyway, we ended up having sex—did you know that he was a _virgin?!_ I mean, _come on! HOW?!”_

Nami and Vivi gave each other that familiar look of knowing what the other was thinking, Nami ended up saying, “It doesn’t surprise me, honestly.”

“Yeah, it’s more likely that he found sex unnecessary,” Vivi commented.

“Vivi? You’re there, too, good. Anyway, after we had sex—which was fucking incredible, by the way—he told me he loved me again and I started crying. He ended up holding me until I fell asleep and when I woke up he told me he loved me again and I started crying, _again.”_ She took a few very deep breaths, then said, “He told me things that no one has ever said to me before… He told me he wanted to treat me right and make me happy.”

“Aww~ Sanji~! This is good news!” Vivi was smiling oh~ so~ beautifully.

“Yeah, I know~ that, but…” She sighed again, they waited for her to finish what she wanted to say, “He told me he wants to marry me, and get me _pregnant_ someday… He asked me to _move-in_ with him!”

“What’s wrong with that? Isn’t that what you want?” Nami questioned her with a smile.

“Nami~!” Sanji whined, “This is want _you_ want!”

She began to frown, “Sanji… I’m sorry, I just want you to be happy.”

There was a long sigh before Sanji spoke again, “I know that, okay? I do. It’s just… Everything is moving so fast, and I feel like it is all just going to crash and burn.”

“Sanji….” Nami hated hearing her friend so dejected, “I don’t think that’s going to happen. Did Zoro ever do something to make you think he would end up losing interest?”

She sighed, “No~ but—”

“No buts!” Vivi quipped back, “We will give Zoro a call and tell him to cool off, okay?”

Sanji groaned, “Okay~, fine!”

Not really wanting the answer, but wanting Sanji’s reaction to the question, Nami began to ask, “So how big is his—" Then she heard her hang up.

Her and Vivi burst into laughter, they were sitting on the couch, clutching their bellies as they laughed together.

“I can’t believe you asked her that!” Vivi spoke through her giggling.

Nami smiled at the gorgeous woman in front of her, “I just wanted to see what she’d do if I asked.”

Vivi leaned over and gave her a deep, passionate kiss, “I love teasing our nakama with you.”

That comment made Nami snicker, “Should we call Zoro, next?”

Her fiancé nodded enthusiastically, “I’ll dial him right now.”

After a few rings they heard the line connect and a grunt, “What do you want?”

“Now, now, that is no way to speak to me after everything that I’ve done for you.” Nami was going to milk this for all it was worth.

Zoro groaned, “Fuck! Just tell me what you want, I’m not in the mood for your little games!”

Both her and Vivi jumped from his loud tone, after exchanging a look, Vivi asked him, “Hey, Zoro? Is something wrong?”

There was silence before there was a long sigh, “It’s Sanji.”

But that was all he said so Nami asked, “Yeah, what about Sanji?”

He groaned again, this time it was even more frustrated, “I couldn’t sleep after she left last night, I keep worrying I fucked something up and she’s never going to wanna talk to me again.”

“Well, she certainly is going to talk to you again, so you can quit worrying about that.” Nami heard a breath of, presumably, relief before giving him the bad news, “But I’m going to be honest with you Zoro. She is a little concerned you two are moving too fast.”

“What do you mean?” Goddamnit, was this man really _this_ dense?

Thankfully, Vivi was there to handle it, “She said you said you wanted to marry her, get her pregnant, and asked her to move-in. Oh~ and that you _love~_ her.”

Well that certainly was a blunt way to put it, and Zoro seemed to be stunned to silence. Nami tried to soften the blow, “She just got out of a relationship with this guy, Law, and he was a real—”

“Wait, did you say, ‘Law’? Is that the guy’s name?” His voice sounded desperate.

“Uhh, yeah, why?” Nami couldn’t understand why his name even really mattered.

There was a moment of silence before Zoro answered, “It’s nothing.”

Nami hesitated for a moment, as did Vivi. Then she ended up saying, “Listen Zoro, I’ve wanted you two to get together forever and I would love to see you two get married and have kids someday.” She sighed, hated needing to tell him this, “But Sanji doesn’t know how to have a relationship outside of sex. She’s never had a relationship outside of one-night-stands until she met Law and it became a regular thing.”

“I’m not like that, Nami,” there was sureness in his tone.

Both her and Vivi smiled gently by his words, “I know you’re not, Zoro. That’s why I want you to be together.”

“Nami?” He asked, sounding hesitant.

She was curious to hear what he had to say, “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry I never listened to you—about going to _All Blue.”_ He sounded rather sincere, very unlike himself, mostly because he was actually apologizing.

A huge grin spread across her face, “You’re welcome. Did you use the bubble bath I gave you?”

There was a small pause before, “Yes.”

“How many times did she make you—” Then he hung up.

Then, once again, her and Vivi began laughing together, happily. Those two really were perfect for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! 
> 
> Hoped this chapter was interesting and added to the story. I personally think the most important bit of information is what Nami ends up telling Zoro in their phone call. Not only did she reveal the name of Sanji's ex, but we also find out that Sanji has never been in a relationship aside from one-night-stands.  
> Yeah, this actually wasn't at all how I planned on Zoro finding out, but sometimes things happen while I am writing and suddenly I am just like, "Oh FUCK yes! Of course this is what would happen!" So~ yeah, that happened here. 
> 
> Please leave a comment, let me know what you think of the story, this chapter, the characters, ANYTHING! Just comment :D
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	10. Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
> 
> This chapter is over 8,000 words... Also I had added some lyrics into the dialogue. All the lyrics come from songs from ZAYN's new album Icarus Falls. I included some song titles in bold.
> 
> This is in Zoro's POV, and there are some lemons... enjoy!

“How many times did she make you—” Before Nami could finish _that_ dreaded question, Zoro hung up the phone.

_Nope! I am NOT having that conversation with her—ever!_

Zoro was feeling even more frustrated than he already was _before_ Nami had called. He barely slept, so all morning he had been feeling like shit, and then Nami had to call and tell him he had freaked Sanji out from the things he told her.

He groaned in his frustration, “Argh! Why the hell do I have to be such an _idiot?!”_

After talking to Nami and Vivi, Zoro realized how crazy he must’ve sounded to Sanji. Because, what man would tell a woman all that shit after barely knowing her for a _week?_

Well, apparently Zoro—he told her that he wanted to get married and start a family together, that he wanted her to stay with him, to move-in with him. Zoro couldn’t remember how many times he ended up telling her that he loved her over the course of the day, and it always seemed to make Sanji react differently. But the craziest part about it all was that he had meant every word.

Because being with Sanji yesterday had been incredible for Zoro. He had never felt so connected to another person before—and not just because he finally lost his virginity. There was something about being with her that made Zoro feel so complete and whole. Sanji was like this wonderful, shining star in the sky that only he managed to acquire and hold in his grasp. But as soon as she had left, he came crashing down from his high.

And Zoro couldn’t understand why Sanji didn’t want to stay with him. He thought that she liked being around him, too—that she needed him. There was this overwhelming feeling of loss as soon as he returned to his bed, all alone. There was this aching, hollow feeling in his chest without her in his arms.

Everything felt _wrong._ Something was missing, _someone_ was missing, Sanji was missing. Zoro didn’t even try replacing her with a pillow, he knew there wasn’t anything that could compare or fill-in for Sanji.

He had been exhausted from the sex but wasn’t able to fall asleep feeling like this; and usually Zoro could sleep through just about anything, so this was especially frustrating. Without Sanji there with him, he couldn’t relax enough to fall asleep.

That was when he realized he didn’t even know where she lived or have her phone number. In fact, Zoro didn’t know a lot of things about Sanji. He didn’t know where she was from or what her family was like, what her favorite color was or favorite animal. Zoro didn’t even know Sanji’s last name—but he knew what he wanted it to be.

His. Zoro knew that no matter what he learned about Sanji, he would only end up loving her more. Because he knew that all those things were just trivia and only the little pieces that created the whole picture.

And that whole picture was Sanji—the only woman he had ever fallen for. There wasn’t anything that anyone could say that would make him change his mind. And Zoro was determined to make Sanji feel the same way about him.

He recalled the way she reacted after playing with her ring finger, Sanji had said she loved him. It made his chest ache, not in a bad way—but it didn’t feel good either. The best way Zoro could describe it was it felt like his heart was being squeezed. It made him happy to hear her say that, but he could tell that she wasn’t completely there yet.

Yeah, Zoro knew that she loved the way he could make her feel, he loved it too. He knew that Sanji loved the way his body looked and the things it allowed him to do to her. It wasn’t hard to tell these things, Sanji actually made them all quite obvious. But what Zoro wanted was for Sanji to feel comfortable with him—to talk to him about not only her hopes and dreams, but her greatest fears and weaknesses as well.

Since he had been unable to sleep, he ended up going down to his dojo to workout. It was nearly three in the morning by the time he tired himself out enough to fall asleep. Of course, this resulted in him falling asleep on the middle of the floor in his gym, so when he woke up a couple hours later his body was aching.

Zoro’s entire life was being turned upside down. The things that used to bring him enjoyment—like the burning feeling he got from a good workout or waking from a blissful sleep—were no longer the same. No workout could compare to the way Zoro felt after pleasuring Sanji, and the first thing he wanted to see when he woke up from now on was her beautiful face.

If only he wasn’t so fucking stubborn, Zoro might’ve gone to her restaurant like Nami always was telling him to do. Maybe then he could’ve met Sanji two years ago and she never would’ve wasted her time with Law.

That was the other thing—LAW was Sanji’s ex—the fucking moronic asshole that cheated on her and got caught. _LAW—_ a guy that Zoro had known for _years,_ one of his students, someone he considered more than just an acquaintance.

For the past two years, Zoro had heard very little about the woman Law was seeing other than the fact she was ‘a total slut in bed’—Law’s words. Now, he understood why their conversation the last time he saw him was so awkward—they were both talking about the same ‘irritating blonde woman.’

Zoro remembered Law calling Sanji ‘needy’ and saying she wasn’t worth the trouble. It was pretty obvious that Law was only ever interested in getting laid; and since Sanji was willing to give him what he wanted, he took it. Although Zoro had known him longer than Sanji, he wasn’t sure how he’d react once he saw Law again.

Now, he knew that Sanji has never had a relationship with a guy that wasn’t _just_ sex. Adding _that_ bit of information to everything else just made him feel worse. As if he _already_ didn’t feel like he was messing everything up, now he was worried Sanji thought that was all he wanted from her. Zoro knew he wanted more than that, and he wanted Sanji to know that too.

At least Nami was rooting for him, even if he maybe _was_ moving a little too fast. Zoro felt incredibly thankful for Nami right now; he didn’t know what he ever did to make her think he would be a good fit for Sanji, but he desperately wanted it to be true. Nami was oddly encouraging about it all, even about the idea of kids.

_Fuck, though… I KNEW I shouldn’t have said anything! Why the hell did I have to tell her I want to get her pregnant?! Yeah, it’s true—but Sanji didn’t need to know that! If she has never had a real relationship, just one-night-stands and then whatever the fuck you call Law… Does she even WANT something more with me? She didn’t want to stay the night, and she looked like she saw a ghost when I suggested she move-in… But she doesn’t like being at her place, and her restaurant is right next door—she should just stay with me! I would take such good care of her, I’d make sure she knew how much she means to me—how much I love her and want to spend every possible moment with her!_

Zoro was trying to remind himself that he was at least Sanji’s boyfriend now. That was already a big deal and something worth celebrating. But why then did he feel so fucking anxious? He still couldn’t help but feel like he was going to fuck something up and Sanji would end up leaving him forever, or worse—he ends up hurting her.

He knew that he could never forgive himself if he ever really hurt her. That it would absolutely _kill_ him to hurt the woman he loves, so he was determined not to. He would much rather be the one who feels her pain, be the one to carry her burdens, and be the one she leans on for support.

There was no way he was going to let anything stand in the way of Sanji’s happiness, not if he could help it. He would do anything to see her smile; he loved her all the time, but she was certainly the most beautiful when she was happy, with her blue eyes twinkling. Zoro wanted to be—no— _was_ the one who would make sure she looked like that every day, for the rest of her life. Because she was going to be doing it for him.

Since it was Sunday, Zoro needed to run errands, which was mostly just grocery shopping for the week. It was nearly ten in the morning, after his phone call from Nami, when Zoro decided to get that over with. Once he grabbed his keys and wallet, he went downstairs to his garage and drove to the grocery store.

Unfortunately, this was Zoro so it took him a half-hour to find the grocery store that was two streets away. When he finally got there, he was feeling even _more_ frustrated than he already was. He tried to get through the store as fast as possible, looking for the things he usually would buy, but it still took him an hour of wandering around, getting so irritated and angry that everything was always moving.

He still couldn’t find rice, he had been looking _everywhere,_ Zoro was close to saying ‘fuck it’ and walking out of the store altogether. Then he heard the sweet sing-song voice of a certain blonde behind him, “Fancy seeing you here, marimo.”

With a huge smile on his face, Zoro turned around and took in the sight that was Sanji. She looked so damn beautiful, standing there with that dazzling smile, seeming to have a twinkle in her left eye. Wait, that was new, “Hey curly brow, your hair’s different.”

“Oh,” her delicate fingers brushed it to the right, “Yeah, I thought I’d change it.”

Zoro didn’t give a shit that they were standing in the grocery store and there were people around, he closed the distance between them and held her gorgeous face in his rough hands before capturing her lips. He knew she had done it for him, because he only had his one eye and this way he would be able to gaze directly into hers when their faces were close like this. Pulling away before he could get carried away, Zoro smiled at her in adoration, “Thank you.”

Her cheeks were that gorgeous shade of pink, a tell-tale sign she was embarrassed. Then she stuttered, “W-what makes you think I did this for you?”

He gave Sanji a knowing look and smirked, “Because you did.”

For a moment she just glared at him, that other curly eyebrow of hers was furrowed, but she ended up sighing, “Yeah, okay, fine.” He was so happy to see her he forgot about everything else around them until Sanji asked him, “What’re you looking for?”

“Hmm? Oh—rice,” he shook his head, “I can’t find it anywhere.”

Sanji stared at him for a moment in disbelief before saying, “It’s literally right by your feet.”

When Zoro glanced down at the lower shelves, he indeed saw rice. He grumbled, “Well, thanks.”

As he was placing a bag into his shopping cart, Sanji was still giggling, “You know~ I was going to get something to make us for lunch, what would you like?”

He turned to her with a smile, “I’d eat anything you cook.”

That blue eye of hers was shining at his compliment, but she told him, “That doesn’t really help me decide what to make.”

Zoro shrugged, “I dunno, how about chicken?”

Sanji’s smile was so gorgeous, she looked like she belonged on the cover of a magazine, but here she was, standing in front of Zoro in the grocery store. “Chicken it is,” Sanji began to walk past him and Zoro followed behind her with his cart.

Even though they actually had just run into each other, they acted as if it was normal to be shopping together. Sanji ended up grabbing a few other things that she apparently needed for whatever she was making, and Zoro no longer found himself caring that he had already spent far more time getting groceries than he would’ve preferred.

Being able to follow Sanji around was not only nice because he didn’t have to worry about where he was going, but he also had an incredible view of her ass. Since he was her boyfriend, he felt like he had the right to admire her like this. Zoro ended up catching a few men staring at Sanji, so naturally, all of them received death glares until they averted their eyes from his woman.

After paying for everything they loaded the bags into Zoro’s car and with the help of Sanji giving him directions, they got back to his dojo, no problem.

Zoro carried all the bags inside, there were only a few and he wouldn’t let Sanji lift a finger when he was completely capable of doing it himself.

As he was putting things away, Sanji started cooking their lunch. The way they moved and worked around each other felt so easy and practiced. Zoro couldn’t keep his hands to himself, every time he needed to reach around Sanji, he would stand unnecessarily close and put his hand on her waist.

Sanji didn’t seem to mind, of course. She was actually smiling and humming to herself as she prepared them lunch. She was making some type of roast that needed to be cooked in the oven, which was preheating. As she seasoned the chicken and the vegetables she had cut up, she looked so blissfully happy that he couldn’t hold himself back any longer.

Zoro was finished putting away the groceries and walked up behind Sanji, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She continued what she was doing with her hands but told him, “You seem tired.”

He murmured, “Couldn’t sleep.”

She sighed, “Me neither.”

For a moment, Zoro wondered if she hadn’t been able to sleep because they weren’t together, but he decided that it was probably something else. He remembered what had happened the night before between them and what happened earlier in the day. “Nami called,” he felt Sanji’s body tense for a moment, so he added, “I’m sorry if I said anything that makes you uncomfortable. You just mean a lot to me and I’ve never done this before.”

Sanji leaned back against his chest and turned her head to look at him, “You didn’t make me uncomfortable, it’s the opposite.” Her eye was full of emotion as she admitted, “No one has ever said that they loved me before, or any of the things you have.”

That confession made Zoro feel warmth in his chest, but there was also this nagging thought in the back of his mind. “Nami said the last guy you were with was named Law,” he hated the resulting look in her eye, but he had to tell her, “I think I know him.”

If he had to describe the way Sanji looked, Zoro would say she seemed to be confused and also incredibly nervous. She stared at him with that curly eyebrow slightly pulled down, “How?”

Zoro let out a breath, then nervously told her, “He is one of my students at the dojo, I’ve known him for years—you know…tall, tattoos on his hands…”

Her eye widened and she looked away, “Yeah, that’s him.”

“Hey,” he brought his hand to her face and turned her chin to look at him, “I’ll tell him I won’t teach him anymore.”

She still wouldn’t look him in the eye, “You don’t need to do that…”

“Well, tell me what I _do_ need to do!” His loud tone of voice made her meet his gaze, “I feel like I need to do _something…”_

Something in her eye seemed to flicker, like she just realized something important, “What did he say to you?”

“It doesn’t matter what he _said_ to _me,_ all that I care about is what he _did_ to _you!”_ Zoro wasn’t going to repeat the things Law had said, he’d never tell Sanji what he said about her.

She seemed less than thrilled with his declaration, her blue eye was burning with fury, “He _did_ say something, though.”

He let his arms fall to his sides and scowled, “Why does it matter?”

 _“Because~”_ Her voice was so whiney, almost panicky, “I’m afraid he will make you change your mind about me!”

Zoro’s expression and voice softened, “Baby, that could never happen.”

Sanji still wasn’t happy, “Why won’t you just tell me?”

He groaned in irritation, “Because it’s not important.”

“IT IS TO ME!” She was clearly getting pissed he wasn’t telling her anything.

“It shouldn’t be. It doesn’t matter what he thinks about you, because you aren’t with him anymore—you’re with me!” Zoro didn’t mean to raise his voice, but it wasn’t like Sanji wasn’t yelling at him, too.

She pursed her lips, furrowing her curly eyebrow and glaring at him, but stayed quiet. Then she stepped away from him to put the pan in the oven and set a timer on the stove. Zoro silently watched her as she washed her hands in the sink and finally turned to him with a calmer expression, “Okay, fine. You don’t have to tell me.”

“I never was going to,” he knew it would only make her upset to know what Law said.

Sanji sighed and rolled her eye, “It’ll be awhile before lunch is ready, did you wash your bedsheets after yesterday?”

He shook his head, “Should I have?”

The smallest smile appeared on her lips, “Well, yeah~ they are probably gross.”

“Oh,” Zoro scratched the back of his head, “I didn’t really think about that.”

She giggled at him, “It’s okay, that’s why I asked.”

Zoro closed the distance between them and kissed her cheek, “I’ll put them in the wash, I need to do some laundry anyway.” Then he left her alone in the kitchen and walked to his bedroom.

After he started a load of laundry, Zoro went back to the kitchen and found Sanji was finishing up washing the dishes she had dirtied. The dress she wore was white with diagonal navy-blue stripes, her hair was in a bun on top of her head, leaving her neck bare and exposing the dark hickeys he had left there the day before.

Knowing that Sanji had gone out in public with those marks showing made Zoro incredibly happy. Sure, most of them were hidden under the fabric of her dress, but there were still a couple that weren’t covered. He liked knowing that if anyone noticed them, they would know that she was already taken. And as for the men who were checking her out at the grocery store, they knew that Zoro was the one who made them.

When Sanji turned around and saw him staring at her, she tilted her head slightly, “Penny for your thoughts?”

He smirked, “You look sexy.”

She scoffed, “Yeah, okay~ marimo.”

“I’m serious,” Sanji didn’t seem to believe him. “Everywhere you go, people are staring at you,” that came out a little more bitter than he wanted it to.

“Whatever, I could say the same about you,” she rolled her eye at him.

Zoro returned the gesture, “That’s only because I have green hair and a scar on my face. People stare at you because you are gorgeous.”

Sanji glared at him as she crossed her arms in front of her, “So it has nothing to do with the fact that you are completely ripped?”

He sighed, “Okay, fine. But I was talking about you.”

“No, we’re done with me,” she shook her head.

“Quit being so stubborn,” Zoro grinned devilishly at her expression, “You look gorgeous with your mouth open like that.”

She closed her mouth, only for it to fall back open and say, “I hate you.”

With a light chuckle, Zoro answered back, “I love you~,” with a teasing tone.

Her face turned pink from embarrassment and she averted her eye. Zoro was leaning against the counter, but her reaction made him stand and walk to her side. He tilted her chin up and pressed his lips to hers briefly before pulling away to repeat himself more seriously, “I love you.”

When her eye fluttered back open and gazed into his, Zoro could see just how much it meant to her to hear him say that. She didn’t need to say anything back to him, Zoro captured her mouth in another kiss to prove just how much he meant it.

Zoro’s hand brushed her bangs from her face before making its way to the back of her head to pull her closer. As he coaxed her mouth open with his, Sanji moaned and parted her lips. His tongue pushed inside, Zoro hungrily devoured and explored her mouth, rubbing against her own tongue. He felt Sanji’s fingers in his hair, her nails tracing meaningless patterns that felt so incredible on his scalp. His other arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her against him, causing her to gasp and break their kiss, “Zoro!”

Since he was no longer tasting the delicious flavor of Sanji, Zoro pouted, “What?”

She blinked up at him, “We don’t have time for _that~”_ Sanji’s cheeks were flushed and she looked away, “Lunch will be ready soon.”

That’s when he realized the huge erection he was sporting and had firmly sandwiched between their bodies. “Oh, shit…” He let go of her and took a step back, now _he_ was the one who was blushing, “I didn’t realize… _Fuck_ —yeah…”

Sanji began to laugh, “How don’t you realize _that?!”_

“Umm,” he scratched the back of his head and grumbled, “I’m not used to getting turned on all the time.”

“So? Can’t you still _feel_ it?” She asked perplexedly.

Zoro shrugged, “I just ignore it.”

There was absolutely no color in Sanji’s face as she stared at him. He was about to ask her if she was okay, when she suddenly asked in disbelief, “Don’t you masturbate?”

“Uh, no.” He wasn’t sure why any of this mattered, but the look she was giving him made Zoro feel like he had unknowingly told her his deepest darkest secret. “Stop staring at me with your mouth open like that, it _really_ isn’t helping my situation.”

In an instant, the look in Sanji’s blue eye changed and her mouth curled into a seductive smile, “I know how I _could_ help your situation…” She fell to her knees and pulled his throbbing cock from his pants, then her tongue wrapped around his head as she gripped the base of his shaft.

 _“Fuck~!”_ Zoro caressed her face and watched in awe as she took his length into her mouth. When he felt himself hit the back of her throat, his mouth fell open in pleasure. Sanji had no gag reflex and didn’t stop until her nose was buried in his green patch of hair between his hips. He groaned deeply, _“Shit, baby—I’m gonna cum…”_

With her blue eye gazing up at him, Sanji swallowed around his dick, milking, squeezing every last drop of cum from him before pulling her mouth away. She licked her lips and smirked, “That was fast.”

Zoro rubbed his face and huffed, “Shut up.”

“Hey~ I wasn’t complaining,” her curly eyebrow was raised at him, “I find it quite flattering.”

He grinned at her, “You _should,_ you’re _very_ good at that.”

Sanji frowned slightly and shrugged, “I’ve had a lot of practice.”

Furrowing his brow, Zoro clarified, “I was talking about getting _me_ off.” Honestly, Zoro didn’t want to think about Sanji doing this to other guys, so he helped her stand and told her, “I don’t care how many times you’ve done that, as long as you only ever do it with me from now on.”

As Sanji was opening her mouth to say something, the timer on the oven went off. She found his oven mitts in the drawer beside the stove and took the pan out. The food smelled delicious and Sanji smiled approvingly, “Looks like it’s done, will you grab us plates?”

He hummed in response and took two clean plates from the cupboard near the sink, then grabbed them silverware. Sanji served them each a piece of chicken and some vegetables while Zoro got them each a glass of water.

They sat at the table together and began to eat, Zoro was grinning after the first bite, “Tastes good.”

She playfully rolled her eye, “I’m not a shitty cook, you know~.”

“And I’m not a shitty swordsman,” he teased back.

“Hey!” Sanji laughed lightheartedly, “I only said that because you were being a dick first!”

Zoro grinned at her, “I know.” He took another bite, chewed, and swallowed before admitting, “I just wanted to see you get pissed off.”

Sanji narrowed her blue eye at him, “Why?”

He chuckled, “’Cause you look sexy when you’re mad.”

Her mouth fell open, but she had food in it, so she quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Sanji’s eye was wide with surprise, “What the hell? You’ve got to be joking.”

Shaking his head lightly, Zoro smiled softly, “Wish I was.”

There was a moment where neither of them said a word, only gazed into the other’s eye. Then, Sanji cleared her throat and turned back to her plate, “I still can’t believe that _you_ are interested in _me.”_

Seeing a frown on her beautiful face made Zoro’s chest feel tight, “Sanji.” She turned back to him, “You are amazing.” Her eye softened, he could see her vulnerabilities as he gazed back at her with seriousness, “I barely know anything about you and I already know you are the only person I could ever truly love.”

Sanji gently bit down on her lower lip, her eye fell to her plate, “Yeah, and what happens when you _do_ get to know me?”

Zoro reached out and covered Sanji’s hand with his own, “Then I will _really_ know my girl inside and out.”

Her eye met his and Zoro could see the sparkle it held, “Your girl?”

The question caught him off guard, but it made Zoro smile. He gently caressed the back of her hand with his thumb, “Yeah, you’re my girl.”

A huge grin crossed Sanji’s face, it looked like she was trying to hide it because the corners of her mouth kept twitching. Eventually she turned to him, her eye filled with adoration, “I like the sound of that.”

He grinned back at her, staring into her gorgeous blue eye, “Me too.”

They stayed like that for a moment, before Sanji turned away and continued eating her lunch with a smile. Zoro followed her lead and finished the rest of his food.

_I fucking love this woman. I love everything about her, and I want to know EVERYTHING about her. I love being around her, I love talking to her and I love sitting beside her in a comfortable silence. I love eating the food she cooks, and I REALLY love eating HER. Fuck, I don’t want her to ever leave my sight. I want to be with her all the time. I hate being away from her, I love how good it feels to be in her presence. Being with Sanji feels so incredible, I feel so complete._

Finished with their lunch, Sanji stood from the table and Zoro followed her to the kitchen sink with their plates in-hand. As she washed the dishes, he dried them. It was a mindless task he had done countless times before, but he was _enjoying_ himself because Sanji was the one handing them to him. Zoro’s mind was wandering, day-dreaming really, about doing this every day for the rest of his life.

When the last dish was washed, dried, and put away, Zoro turned to Sanji with determination and nervousness, “Spend the night with me—before you ask, it’s not because I want to have sex. I’m asking because I want you to sleep with me, in my bed.” He sighed and scratched the back of his head, admitting, “I couldn’t sleep without you next to me.”

Sanji sighed gently, “I couldn’t either.”

His eye met hers and Zoro returned her worried smile, “Did you give any thought to moving-in with me?”

She closed her eye, “Zoro, I—” Sanji stopped abruptly to groan loudly then continue, “Being with you is…wonderful, but I feel like that is a big decision. If we break-up—”

“We are _never_ going to ‘break-up.’ Stop fucking thinking like that, okay? I love you, you’re my girl, Sanji. I’ll take care of you and be here for you for the rest of my life.” Her curly eyebrow was furrowed, the curl above her nose, Sanji appeared to be deep in thought. Zoro waited for a moment, but was too frustrated to stop himself from saying, “I’d rather die than spend another day without you.”

That brilliant blue eye of hers found his gray one, “Zoro…” They searched each other’s gaze as if it held all the answers they were looking for.

“I would live a thousand lifetimes if it’s you I’m sent to find,” he watched as Sanji’s eye widened, “Just for tonight, stay with me—let me show you what every day could be like.”

Sanji stared back at him for a moment, then shook her head, “Why me?”

“Seriously? Sanji…” he looked at this gorgeous woman standing in front of him. Zoro took her hand, “Come on.” Thankfully, she didn’t protest and followed behind him.

He led them downstairs to a small room in his dojo.

“What are we doing here?” It was a fair question to be asked, Zoro turned on the lights and Sanji gasped, “Why do you have a room of mirrors?!”

He lightly chuckled, “For training purposes…” Zoro closed the door to the mirror room, where not only the walls were covered in mirrors, but so was the floor and ceiling. With a purposeful tone, Zoro instructed, “Take off your clothes.”

She raised her curly eyebrow, “Will you be taking _your_ clothes off?”

Zoro smirked at her as he grabbed the center of his t-shirt and ripped it off. Her mouth fell open and her eye widened, Zoro crossed his arms over his now-bare chest, “Now hurry up, unless you want me to do the same thing to your pretty dress.”

“You wouldn’t _dare,”_ Sanji’s tone was threatening, her eye wide in fury.

His smile grew wider and he cocked his head to the side, “Wanna bet?”

She pursed her lips, staying quiet as she took her dress off only to reveal she was completely naked underneath. Zoro was absolutely speechless, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Sanji seemed to realize this, “I wanted to surprise you… I didn’t expect… Please say something.”

Zoro was still staring lustfully at Sanji’s naked figure being reflected from every angle and replicated infinitely through the mirrors. Her pale skin was covered in various colored, sized, and shaped hickeys that he had given her the day before. He opened his mouth and gazed into her eye, “All I want—all I’ve ever wanted—is right in front of me. I swear, you glow—you burn so bright you could blind somebody, Sanji. I don’t care where you have been because now you’re with me, and I am the luckiest man alive because you have chosen me.”

Sanji’s eye was wide open, “I can’t see how someone as sexy and incredible in bed would want to be with me.”

“Look at yourself!” He waved his arm, gesturing to the mirrors, then closed the distance between them and stood behind her, making eye contact in the mirror, “Sanji, baby, you are the sexiest woman, no— _being,_ that I have ever seen.”

She was biting her lip, but her eye was on his, “I don’t see it.”

His eye widened, _“Sanji…”_ Zoro couldn’t believe this, “You are perfect in every single way, you are _sooo_ fucking hot and sexy, I could make it my full-time job to stare down every guy who looks at you the wrong way. I lost count of how many there were at the grocery store _alone,_ then there’s _All Blue_ where pretty much anyone with a dick in their pants and probably even those without, get a creepy-all-too-happy smile on their face when you’re up on stage.”

Sanji rolled her eye, “Oh please,” she shook her head in dismay, “You’re lying—that’s ridiculous!”

“Nothing I said was untrue, no matter how ridiculous you may think it sounds.” Zoro removed the clip from her hair and her blonde locks fell around her shoulders. He smiled fondly, “I’m lucky to be the one who gets to see you like this.” 

As he gently stroked her long golden strands, barely loud enough for him to hear, Sanji whispered, “What do you see when you look at me?”

Zoro smirked, “I see golden strands of hair that shine brighter than the sun on the horizon, sparkling across the water.” He turned her body around, so she was facing him and brushed her hair from her face to reveal both of her eyes, “I see eyes so blue, they’ve got shades that are deep and darker—like the ocean. But there are lighter ones that remind me of the sky as well.” As he gazed into her eyes he softened his look, “It’s a shame you can’t see them yourself.”

She was biting her lip now, it was rather distracting, so Zoro decided to kiss her. Sanji released her lip in surprise, opening her mouth, Zoro took full advantage of the opportunity and swirled his tongue inside her. He kept it short and swift, a string of saliva stretched between their mouths as their lips parted. Zoro had a smug look on his face, whereas Sanji looked dazed as she mumbled, “Why’d you stop?”

“Because I’m not done.” He clipped her bangs to the side, so they would stay out of her face, Sanji furrowed her eyebrows, “Please, baby… I know you don’t like them, but I think your eyebrows are so pretty and unique. Don’t pout your delicious lips,” he spun her around, so she was once again facing the mirror. “You’ve got the prettiest smile I’ve ever seen, it lights up my world, shines a light on my bad mood. Your arms and hands are so skilled in the kitchen, but I don’t know who taught you how to cook.”

Zoro paused and waited to see if Sanji commented on that, she did not, so he continued, “I see all your flaws and imperfections, that’s what makes me love you more. We’ve got such a spiritual connection—I know this is something real, I’ve never been in love—well, never been in love until now. In this ordinary world, where nothing is enough—everything is gray, and people mistaken love for lust—but when I hold you in my arms,” he sighed, “There isn’t anything **common** about _us.”_ He gestured between them as he gazed into her eyes through the mirror.

“I know~ that’s why I am afraid to lose you!” Sanji closed her eyes as a single tear slid down her cheek.

“I’ll always feel this way about you, I’m not going anywhere. **I don’t mind** waiting if you need some time to love again. I’ve got your back, I’m on your side.” Zoro gave her a reassuring smile, “I know we’d still make it if the planets all faded away. You might think I’m crazy, but I know you’re my baby, Sanji. You are the only woman for me.”

She looked so cute when she was embarrassed, “How can you just say that like it’s nothing?”

He furrowed his brow, “It’s not _nothing.”_ Zoro didn’t know what to say to get through to this woman, “Look, I’m not a **good guy** , Sanji. I’ve hurt too many people to count in my life and have never cared or felt remorse for it.” With a sigh, he admitted, “But you are different. You make me feel different, and since meeting you I’ve begun to want something different for my life. I’ve become selfish, Sanji, I want you to always be mine. I will do all I can to keep you by my side, just because I know it’s what feels right.”

Sanji stared back at him through the mirror, “Really?”

“Fuck, _obviously!”_ Zoro shook his head in disbelief and wrapped his arms around her waist, “Nothing compares to when I feel you on my skin, it feels so **natural** where we come together—like a force of nature… You feel that too, don’t you?”

Slowly, Sanji nodded her head, “Yeah, I feel it.”

Zoro rested his chin on her shoulder, “I’ve never felt like this before, have you?”

She was nibbling on her lower lip as she slowly shook her head. Sanji’s blue eyes were focused on his gray one in the mirror, Zoro’s heart was pounding, he was sure she could feel it against her shoulder.

Taking a deep breath, Zoro blurted out, “Love me **tonight** , like we don’t have tomorrow, like there’s no time at all—love me like tomorrow is never gonna come, Sanji.”

“Zoro…” Her blue eyes seemed to be lost, searching his gray one, “I don’t know what to say.”

He nuzzled his nose against her cheek, “Say yes. Stay with me, forever. As long as you’re feeling the same, let’s make it count.”

Sanji turned her head and their lips connected; her arms were thrown around his neck and Zoro lifted her, so she could wrap her legs around his waist. As they enthusiastically made out with each other, Zoro used one hand to pull his pants down, freeing his erection. With one hand on her ass holding Sanji against him, Zoro continued to use the other to caress her leaking hole between her legs.

Their kiss was broken as Sanji gasped, then moaned against his shoulder, “Fuck~ Zoro~”

Humming with delight, Zoro took the opportunity to whisper in her ear, “I fucking love you, Sanji. I will never get enough of you, everything about you is so perfect…”

She whimpered when he brushed against her nub, _“Shit…”_

The sounds she was making as he continued to tease that sensitive spot were very encouraging. Zoro’s breathing was labored with his restraint, “Damn, baby… You sound like such a _slut,_ moaning like that.”

 _“Ahhh~ Zoro~ I wan- I need your cock inside of me!”_ Her head rolled to the side, so she was looking him in the eye, her own were filled with desire.

A low growl came from his throat, then he positioned himself at her opening and pulled her hips down onto his throbbing dick. The sensation of being inside of her was absolutely incredible, so warm and wet, inviting, hugging him tightly, clamping down and squeezing.

 _“Uhhhh~! Baby~ FUCK! You feel sooo~ gooood~!”_ Sanji was riding him and meeting his every thrust with one of her own.

Standing in the middle of the room of mirrors, he was easily able to watch her reactions as he held Sanji in his arms and fucked her. _“Fuck… YES! Baby~ I love the way you feel around my dick, so tight and wet.”_

 _“Fuck~ Zoro~ Harder, harder, harder… Ahhhh~!”_ She tilted her head back with her eyes and mouth wide open.

He grunted as he followed her orders, _“Look at yourself, Sanji. You love this too, you love the way I touch you and fuck you like no one ever has.”_

 _“YES! YES! YES! I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! FUCK~!”_ Sanji’s fingernails were digging into the skin where she held onto his shoulders, Zoro could feel the sting but he didn’t mind it one bit.

As he effortlessly hit that sweet spot deep inside Sanji, making her scream incoherently, he was feeling himself getting close. _“Sanji… Sanji, shit…”_ Zoro adjusted his hands so he could rub her sensitive bud, which made her legs begin to quiver and shake around him.

 _“AHHH~! YEAH~ RUB MY CLIT HARDER!”_ She was putty in his arms.

Of course, Zoro did as Sanji instructed and rubbed her ‘clit’ harder with his fingertips. He watched as her eyes rolled back into her skull and moaned, _“Do you want me to cum inside of you?”_

 _“Mmmmm, my mouth…”_ She loosened her grip on his shoulders and Zoro felt her fingernails leave his skin.

He pulled out of her then lowered her to the floor. Sanji’s mouth wrapped around his nearly-bursting cock, Zoro sighed in relief and pleasure as he came in her mouth, _“Ahh~ Ohhh~ Sanji… Sanji, baby… You are so fucking sexy!”_

She was licking him clean, even her own juices she had leaked onto him. The sight of the gorgeous blonde woman doing this to him was too much, he was still hard. It was hard to believe he had actually just ejaculated considering how erect he still was.

Sanji’s eyes met his and Zoro gazed longingly into them, “Do you _see_ what you do to me?”

A cute smile and small giggle crossed her lips, “You should see yourself.”

Zoro smirked, “Yeah, I know~ you like my muscles.” Then he rolled his eye, “You’re deflecting the topic from yourself.”

Her mouth fell open in shock, “N-no I’m not!”

He gave her a knowing look before becoming more serious, “Don’t you know how fucking beautiful you are?”

She pouted, “I’m not!”

Zoro stared back at her with a blank expression, “You’re kidding right?”

Sanji huffed, “No, I’m not kidding. I’m just an ugly, unwanted, unloved, worthless person who doesn’t deserve you to treat me like you do.”

There were no words that came to Zoro, he was at a complete loss and had no idea what to say to that ridiculous statement. He just stared at her, thinking she must be crazy, before finally clearing his throat and kneeling on the floor with her and took her hands in his own, “None of those things are true, Sanji. I promise to remind you of that every day for the rest of our lives, okay?”

Tears were filling her gorgeous blue eyes as she nodded her head, “Okay.”

Zoro kissed her lips, hard. He wanted to express how much it meant to him for her to agree with him. When he pulled away, he whispered against her mouth, “I love you so much, Sanji.”

She threw her arms around his shoulders and hugged him, burying her face into the crook of his neck. Her voice was so quiet as she confessed, “I feel like I don’t deserve it.”

“Why? **Talk to me** , let’s go deeper. I wanna get to know you,” he kissed her bare shoulder and ran his nose against her throat.

He heard a sniffle before she told him, “No one has ever wanted me, my own family didn’t even want me. My own father didn’t care if I was raised by someone else after my mom died.”

This was all new information for Zoro, he didn’t know about any of this, “Baby, what are you talking about?”

A sob broke from Sanji, “My mom died when I was six, since then I was raised by the chef we had—Zeff.” She was crying as she explained, “My family was abusive, Zeff saw that and asked my father if he could raise me himself and took me away.”

“Sanji, baby, Zeff cares about you. He made sure you wouldn’t be around people who didn’t treat you right.” Zoro didn’t know what else to say, all the things running through his mind were probably inappropriate considering it was mostly unkind words regarding her ‘family.’ This Zeff guy was the only one Zoro had anything nice to say about.

“For the past twenty years I’ve only been a burden to him,” she hugged him tighter, “He never wanted a kid he needed to take care of. I’ve spent my whole life trying to make up for all the trouble I’ve caused him.”

Zoro held Sanji closer to his chest, kissing her forehead, he gently petted the back of her head, “What kind of trouble could you possibly cause—other than having so many boys want to date you?”

That made her snort, “Zeff isn’t really the type of guy who knows how to deal with a teenage girl.”

“So, there _were_ lots of boys who wanted to date you?” He chuckled back.

She playfully hit his chest, “No~, like he didn’t know how to teach me about girl things—you know~, periods and boy problems—anything that involves emotions and feelings.”

“Oh.” Now Zoro didn’t know what to say other than to ask, “How’d your mom die?”

Sanji sighed, “She was sick, I don’t remember with what, it was a long time ago.”

“Hmm, I never knew my mother, or my father. I was raised by my sensei after he found out I didn’t have parents. He had a daughter who was a little older than me,” he smiled slightly, remembering his old friend. “I know you might think you were a burden, but Zeff wouldn’t have raised you if he didn’t care about you and want to.”

She was quiet for a moment before asking, “Do you still talk to them?”

Zoro took a deep breath, “Koushirou and I talk still. Kuina died when we were kids.”

He could feel Sanji’s body freeze in his arms, “I’m sorry.”

Hugging her tighter, Zoro assured her, “It’s okay, it was a long time ago.”

Sanji shook her head against his neck, “Just because it happened years ago doesn’t make it hurt any less. You cared about her, I know you must miss her—I miss my mom, too.”

Sighing, Zoro confirmed, “I do miss her. We used to train together, she was so much better than me, too—I could never beat her. She wanted to be the best, so she trained harder than anyone else. Since she was a girl, she would always say she wouldn’t be able to keep up with me one day.” He paused and reminisced, “We made a promise that one day, one of us would become the greatest swordsman in the world.”

With a look of admiration in her eyes, Sanji simple stated, “You did it for her.”

Zoro nodded his head, “Yeah…after she died, Koushirou let me have her katana. I’ve kept her with me ever since as a reminder to fulfill our dream.”

“And now you have,” she smiled at him, her blue eyes shining up at him.

He nodded and smiled softly, “What about you? Why did you want to open a restaurant?”

Sanji wiped her drying tears from her cheeks, “I’m from the north, when Zeff took me away, we stopped in Raftel and I thought it was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. We opened the _Baratie_ in East Blue City and it became popular for Zeff’s cooking. I would sing there growing up, and when I was older I started cooking, too.”

“So, you wanted to come back to Raftel and open your own restaurant?” Zoro was piecing things together, “That spot at the cliff…it’s special to you.”

She nodded her head, “Yeah, Zeff and I went there when I was a kid. He told me that my future was wide open, and I could do anything I put my mind to.” A tear slid down her cheek, “He said I never needed to go back to my family again, and that we would always be together.”

“See,” he wiped the tear from her face with his thumb, “Zeff cares about you. He loves you no matter what, he might just not know how to say it.”

Biting her lower lip, Sanji appeared deep in thought, “You think so?”

Zoro cupped her face in his hand and gave her a soft kiss, “Yes, of course.”

She smiled at him, “I’d like you to meet him.”

He blinked back at her in surprise, “Really?”

Sanji was now blushing, “Yeah, I mean…I think so?”

Zoro chuckled at her reaction, “I would love to meet him, Sanji.”

“Really?” She bashfully smiled.

Kissing her again, this time more eagerly, Zoro pulled away and whispered, “Of course, I would love to meet Zeff. One day, I’d love to introduce you to Koushirou, too.”

Her arms were wrapped around his neck so tightly, Zoro was hardly able to breathe. It was one of the best feelings he had ever felt in his life. Sanji kissed his cheek and he could feel her smile as she said, “I’d love that.”

Cradling her body against his own, Zoro sighed contently, “I love you.” He kissed her head and asked, “Should we go back upstairs?”

“Yeah, I bet the laundry is ready to go in the dryer.” Sanji pulled away from him and reached for her dress, “By the way, why don’t you have any scars on your back?”

Zoro smirked, “Scars on the back are a swordsman’s shame.”

Sanji stared at him with a worried expression, “Oh… I hope my nail marks don’t leave scars then…”

His smirk grew larger, “I’d be happy to get scars if they’re from your fingernails digging into my back as I’m fucking you.” Then Zoro stood and lifted Sanji into his arms, “Those are the _only_ kind of scars I want on my back.”

With an adorable sigh, Sanji nuzzled against his neck and relaxed in his arms as she let him carry her back upstairs. Zoro couldn’t contain his ear-splitting grin, because he had gotten Sanji to open-up to him and talk about her insecurities—and he was able to ease her mind of her troubles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> First of all, I would like to apologize that this chapter took so long to come out. It is the holiday season and I have been busy this past week and a half and wasn't able to write for awhile. So, since you had to wait so long, I wanted to make this chapter super long and hopefully you all enjoyed it.  
> A few chapters ago I had said that the next one would be in Law's POV, but I am sorry to say that there will be one more chapter before we get to Law. So chapter 11 will be in Sanji's POV and then chapter 12 will be Law's.   
> I'm also going to take this time to rant/vent or whatever. I had seen a random thing on tumbler a little while ago where the person was complaining about how a female Sanji wouldn't be interested in men because of their upbringing and how women were the only ones who deserved kindness because men are dicks or whatever was the gist of it. ANYWAY... In this story, the only man who has ever treated Sanji with any respect and kindness is Zeff and now Zoro. Sanji is heterosexual and especially is attracted to men who are big and strong and confident because that's how she views Zeff. But since Zeff is her father figure, Sanji obviously doesn't have any sexual attraction towards him and ends up being with men who don't really care about her, but she views as strong and confident. Basically, Sanji is too blinded by her attractions that she is unable to see that none of the men she has given her time deserved it. Pretty much, Zoro's affections towards Sanji are representations of how male Sanji treats every woman in the One Piece universe.  
> So rant over... I am also just going to mention again that I had added song lyrics from ZAYN's new album Icarus Falls, some of the titles of songs I used are in bold in the story. I have been listening to this album all the time since it came out a couple weeks ago. It is amazing, I highly recommend listening to it, especially if you like pop/R&B music.  
> Last, but not least, please please please, let me know what you think of this chapter! Leave a comment! I love reading all the comments you all leave for me on this story, the feedback has been very encouraging and makes me want to get new chapters out as fast as possible. Thanks so much for the support, you all are wonderful and I hope you are having a happy holiday season!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	11. Bandages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
> 
> This chapter is in Sanji's POV.
> 
> BE WARNED: this chapter is over 12,000 words and contains lots of smut.

Sanji couldn’t put her finger on what the strange feeling she had was called. Being held in Zoro’s arms made her feel so relaxed, comfortable, and secure. It was very similar to how it felt being around Zeff—she felt safe and protected.

_Zoro is so warm and strong, he makes me so happy and feel at ease. I’ve never felt like this with anyone but Zeff. What is it about Zoro that makes me feel like this?_

He was carrying her up the stairs with ease, she knew he wouldn’t drop her or let her fall. Zoro was dependable, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. She could see it when he gazed into her eyes and when he smiled at her.

Once upstairs, Zoro carried her to the laundry room and set her naked ass down on top of the washing machine. Sanji watched him as he switched the laundry over to the dryer and put in another load. She held her dress in her lap and hugged her knees to her chest, “Zoro?”

His gray eye looked up at her and that killer-smile crossed his lips, “Yeah, baby?”

As she stared back at him, all words were lost. Sanji shook her head and smiled, “Never mind.”

He tilted his head slightly, “Hey, you can ask or tell me anything, okay?”

Sanji gave him a kind smile, “Okay… Umm, if I stay here tonight, I need to run to my place and grab a few things.”

That made his smile return, “Yeah, we can go there now, if you want.”

“Oh,” Sanji hadn’t expected Zoro to join, “I don’t need you to come with me…”

“Do you not want me there?” He abruptly asked.

“What? No—it’s not that…” Sanji tried to explain, “My place is just a mess and—"

He interrupted her, “Look, if you don’t want me there, just say so.”

Sanji’s mouth was open in shock, “I hate my place, it reminds me so much of Law. I don’t want to have you there and constantly be reminded of him.”

Zoro scratched the back of his head, but instead of being embarrassed, he seemed frustrated and sighed, “That’s why I want you to just move-in with me.”

She shook her head, “Zoro, listen to me.” Sanji waited for him to look into her eyes before calmly stating, “I’m not opposed to the idea, I just need more time.”

He frowned slightly, “I feel like we’ve wasted so much time already.”

“What’re you talking about?” Sanji was staring at him with a puzzled expression, “We only met a week ago.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about!” Zoro’s brow was furrowed, “We could’ve met two years ago when _All Blue_ first opened if I wasn’t too stubborn to listen to Nami. You never would’ve met Law and we could already—”

“Zoro!” Sanji cut him off, “Stop thinking about what could’ve been. We are together _now,_ isn’t that what’s important?”

His single gray eye was looking back at her as if he had never considered that thought. Slowly, he began to nod, “Yeah, you’re right.” Zoro stood in front of her and cupped her face in his rough hands, “We are together. Nothing is more important than that.”

The kiss he gave her took Sanji’s breath away. His lips were rough and soft at the same time as they moved against hers. Zoro’s breath was hot and needy as he kissed her with fervor. If it wasn’t for his hands on her cheeks, Sanji certainly would’ve gone limp and fallen over.

When Zoro pulled away, Sanji lazily opened her eyes to see him smiling at her with such fondness, she felt like she might faint. “You are so fucking beautiful, Sanji,” there wasn’t any dishonesty in his eye as he said, “I am so lucky you’re mine.”

_Oh my god! He really means it… Zoro really means everything he says! He would never lie to me, I know he wouldn’t! Yeah—he wouldn’t tell me what Law had said about me, but he wasn’t lying… No one has ever said they were lucky to be with me… No one has ever told me I’m beautiful the way Zoro has. He says it like he means it—not like the other guys who just say it as a default pick-up line. Zoro treats me differently, like he cares about me and about my life. He wants so much more than just a night of sex—he really just wants to be with ME. I can’t explain what he makes me feel…_

“Sanji,” his voice snapped her out of her mind and Sanji focused on what Zoro was saying, “You don’t need to show me your place, I just don’t like being apart from you, so I wanted to come with.”

Her look softened, “Aww~ that’s so sweet.” How was he able to completely disarm her like this? “Fine, you can come with.”

Zoro’s eye brightened, “Really?”

“Sure, why not?” Sanji was smiling just as big as Zoro was, it was actually hurting her cheeks.

His huge, muscled arms wrapped her into a hug, “Fuck, I love you so much.”

Since her knees were pulled to her chest, Sanji was able to push Zoro away from her using her legs. With a lighthearted chuckle, she yelled, “Get away, marimo! You’re going to smother me!”

He glared at her, “Fine, get dressed.” Zoro turned away and muttered, “I can’t believe I just said that,” as he left her alone in the laundry room.

Sanji had forgotten she was naked, she felt so comfortable around Zoro she didn’t even notice. Hopping down from the washing machine, Sanji put her dress back on and blushed when she remembered that she had surprised Zoro by not wearing any underwear beneath it.

When she was finished getting dressed, she found Zoro in the kitchen wearing a new shirt and looking as handsome as ever as he put their leftovers into the fridge. Sanji asked, “You ready?”

When he turned to her, a smile spread across his face and he nodded, “Yeah, I’ll drive, that way we won’t need to carry anything back.”

Smiling back at her boyfriend, Sanji agreed, “Sounds good, let’s go!”

They descended the stairs and went to the garage, back into Zoro’s car. Sanji gave him directions on how to get to her place which was a close, five-minute drive.

Zoro parked in front of her building on the street and got out of the car. Before Sanji had a chance to open her door, Zoro had already done it for her and was holding out his hand to help her from the vehicle.

She couldn’t stop herself from blushing at his gesture and teased, “Wow~ who knew you could be such a gentleman, marimo?” Sanji accepted his help nonetheless and exited the car.

He closed the door behind her and grinned, “There’s more where that came from.” Zoro kissed the back of her hand, then held onto it as they walked into her apartment building.

Her brain was no longer working. Sanji was running on autopilot, luckily, she had entered her apartment countless times over the past two years she’s lived there. The problem was she had never held anyone’s hand while doing it, especially Zoro’s.

When they were in the elevator, Zoro turned to her with a concerned look, “You okay, curly brow?”

Sanji wrinkled her nose at that nickname, “I’m fine, just a little nervous.”

The elevator arrived at her floor and she led them towards her door. She vaguely registered that Zoro asked, “Why’re you nervous?”

She stopped in front of her door and turned to face him before unlocking it, “The other night I collected everything in my place that reminded me of Law and it’s all sitting on my dinner table.”

Zoro raised his eyebrow, “Okay? Is that all?”

Sanji thought for a moment then nodded her head.

He gave her a reassuring smile, “It’s fine, I’m not going to change my mind just because I see your ex’s stuff.”

“Promise?” She didn’t realize that was what she was afraid of until Zoro said it wouldn’t happen.

His smile was dazzling, “I pinky-promise,” Zoro was holding out his little finger to her.

“Are you serious?” She asked, nervously biting her lip.

Zoro raised his eyebrow, “Do I look like I’m kidding?”

_He most-certainly does not look like he is kidding. Zoro is waiting for me to accept…_

Sanji looked him in his gray eye as she curled her little finger around his, “It’s a promise—can’t break it.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” his smile grew wider and brought her hand to his lips for a light kiss.

In that moment, Sanji realized what it was that she felt: trust. Sanji trusted Zoro. She knew he was sincere and wouldn’t intentionally hurt her—hell, he would probably rather get himself hurt.

With her heart pounding in her chest, Sanji turned around and unlocked the door to her apartment. She stepped inside and waved Zoro in as well, “Come on in.”

Zoro walked inside to her living room and looked around with a small smile, “This place doesn’t suit you at all.”

Her mouth fell open, “Excuse me?” Sanji wasn’t sure what made him say such a thing.

When he was done looking around, Zoro turned to her with a serious expression, “You look happier in my place.”

Sanji didn’t know what to say to that, because it was honestly true. She didn’t like being here, Sanji hadn’t smiled since they got to her building. She ended up shrugging her shoulders and walked into her bedroom to grab a bag to put her things in.

Apparently, Zoro decided to follow her, “Sanji, come on~, what’s keeping you here?”

The question stopped her in her tracks. She paused for a moment to think before Sanji turned back around to Zoro with tears in her eyes, “I don’t know.”

Zoro was frowning as he walked over to the edge of her bed and took a seat, “I know you are worried that we’d be moving too fast, but is that really such a bad thing?”

She opened her mouth to answer him but ended up closing it. Sanji gazed into his eye and searched for the words to say, to convince him that ‘yes it was a bad thing.’ The problem was the longer she looked, the more she wanted to say the opposite.

He held his hand out to her, “Baby, come here.”

Sanji hesitantly reached out and placed her hand in his, then let Zoro pull her to his lap. She was straddling him on the edge of her bed and had no idea what to say.

“I am positive that I want to spend every day with you,” Zoro gently brushed her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, “Being with you makes me happy and I want to make you happy in return.” He held her chin between his fingers, “Are you happy here, with me, right now in this apartment?”

_Am I happy here? I didn’t think about that…_

Finally, Sanji admitted, “No, I’m not happy here.”

“Do you feel happy at my place?” He asked, still holding her chin so she was facing him.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, “Yes.”

Zoro closed his eye and sighed, “Then what would be bad about you moving-in with me?”

Sanji blinked at him in realization, “Nothing?”

His smile and eye were gentle, “That’s right, we don’t have to rush and bring everything, but let’s bring some of your stuff over today. How’s that sound?”

Nibbling on her lip again, Sanji nodded her head, “Yeah, okay… You sure, you’re okay with this?”

He stared at her in disbelief, “Are you kidding me? I want you to live with me, Sanji. I won’t accept ‘no’ as your answer.”

That managed to make the smallest smile form on Sanji’s lips, “You’re such an idiot.”

Zoro kissed her, surprising Sanji so much that she nearly jumped off his lap. If it wasn’t for his mouth on hers, she would’ve screamed, but instead Zoro pushed his tongue inside and explored her mouth. Once she relaxed from the initial shock, Sanji contently moaned into Zoro’s mouth and returned his kiss with enthusiasm.

She could feel his hands on her hips, holding her firmly in place as she was straddling his lap. Between her legs was his large erection, rubbing against her core. Sanji gently pushed on his shoulders and their lips broke apart with them both panting for air.

“Why do you always do that?!” Sanji groaned.

He stared at her, confused, “Do what?”

Sanji rolled her eyes, “Just kiss me out of nowhere?!”

“Oh,” he grinned, “That.”

She rubbed her temple in irritation, “Yes, _that._ Why must you always do _that?”_

Zoro hummed in delight, “Because you love it.”

Opening her mouth to protest, Sanji quickly closed it.

_Damnit! He’s right, I do love it. I love it when he kisses me._

He kissed her pouting lips and smiled, “I love kissing you, I always want to kiss you.”

Sanji’s heart was melting, her whole body molded itself around Zoro as she hugged his head and pulled him to her chest. “You’re so cute, marimo.”

Zoro’s grumbles were muffled by her breasts as she tried to smother him with them, but he didn’t seem to mind. He nuzzled his face between them and sighed with content.

She rolled her eyes and pushed him away, “Stop that, you weirdo!”

He was pouting at her, looking like a sad puppy-dog when she hopped off his lap, “Why~?”

Giggling at his childish behavior, Sanji went to her closet and grabbed her suitcase, “Because~ I don’t want to spend the day here.”

As she packed several outfits into her suitcase, Sanji could feel Zoro’s eye on her while she dug through her dresser and closet. She wasn’t entirely sure what to bring, but Zoro always seemed to have the right words, “Just bring some clothes and your bathroom stuff, I’ve got everything else.”

“Uhh, okay,” Sanji went to the bathroom and grabbed her things from the shower as well as her toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, some clips, and her makeup bag. With her arms full, Sanji went back to her bedroom and dropped it all on her bed next to Zoro. She grabbed another suitcase from her closet and tossed it to Zoro, “Will you put those things in here?”

“Yeah, sure,” he was smiling as he followed her orders, it was pretty satisfying getting a guy like Zoro to listen and do what she says.

Sanji grabbed a pile of underwear and threw it into the bag he was packing and watched his face turn bright red. As she laughed, Sanji teased, “What? Never seen a woman’s underwear before~?”

He shot her an irritated glance, “Only yours.”

She grinned at him, “Good.”

Zoro lifted up a G-string, “How can you call _this_ underwear? It doesn’t cover anything!”

Rolling her eyes, Sanji grabbed it from him and tossed it back into the suitcase, “That’s kinda the point, marimo.”

He stared at her, puzzled, “Is that even comfortable?”

She shrugged as she zipped up the bag, “It’s not that bad.”

Zoro appeared to be lost in thought, Sanji decided to leave him be as she finished filling the other suitcase. The silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable, but didn’t last long because Zoro asked, “Will you wear it for me?”

Sanji glanced at him over her shoulder and saw him staring at her ass, “You really want to see me in that?”

His eye flicked up to hers and a predatory smile formed on his lips, “Hell, yes.”

After rolling her eyes, she shook her head, “Yeah, okay, grab them out of the bag for me and I’ll put them on. But~ you can’t see them until we get back to your place.”

A low growl rumbled in his throat, “Fine.” Zoro opened the bag and took the G-string back out and tossed it to Sanji. He watched eagerly as she stepped into them and pulled them up her legs, “Fuck, you’re so sexy, Sanji.”

She bit her lip and smirked seductively, “I’ve got a corset I could bring, and some long stockings…”

His Adam’s apple bobbed against his throat and his eye was wide, “Shit… That sounds hot.”

Sanji went over to her dresser and bent over to reach the bottom drawer, sticking her ass into the air behind her, giving Zoro a nice view. She grabbed her navy-blue corset and white silk stockings and threw them at him on the bed, “Put these in the bag.”

Zoro held up the corset in front of him and his jaw dropped. He looked between Sanji and the corset several times before laying on his back on the bed, _“Fuck, Sanji… You’re killing me.”_

She giggled at him, “If you like that, we could go shopping and get more things like it.”

He sat up with a wide smile, “I would _love_ to buy you something like this.”

This was the happiest she had ever felt in her bedroom. Sanji had lived in this apartment for over two years, had spent countless hours in her bedroom with Law having sex; but the way she felt with Zoro there in that moment was better than all the time she spent there with Law put together. If it wasn’t for the constant reminders that it was once Law who was there with her, Sanji wouldn’t mind being here with Zoro.

Both the suitcases were packed and Zoro carried them from the bedroom to the living room. He was looking at the dining table piled with Law’s things, “What do you want to do with his stuff?”

Sanji shrugged, “I just want to get rid of it.”

“I could give it back to him for you, if you want…” Zoro’s voice trailed off, as if he was regretting suggesting that, and he scratched the back of his head.

She thought about what he said for a moment before asking in disbelief, “You’d really do that?”

He looked relieved, “Yeah, of course.”

Sanji couldn’t stop herself from launching herself at Zoro, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

As she was hugging his torso, nuzzling her face into his chest, Zoro was rubbing her back and kissed the top of her head, “I’d do anything for you.”

Sanji’s heart felt so warm and full, as dense as the guy could be, he still managed to know exactly what she needed to hear. She tilted her head back and puckered her lips, keeping her eyes closed. It wasn’t long before Zoro pressed his lips to hers and gave her a sweet, gentle kiss.

When she opened her eyes, Zoro was smiling at her, “I love you, Sanji.”

There was a part of Sanji that wanted to say it back, but the lump in her throat was too thick for any words to be said. Instead, she caressed his face with her hand and ran her thumb down the scar over his left eye.

Zoro closed his one eye and smiled. When he opened his eye again, Zoro’s eye was more serious, “Let’s go home.”

That one word made Sanji lose it and she squeaked, “Home?”

“Yeah, home. Let’s get this stuff down to my car and we’ll go home.” He smiled at her, “Okay?”

It took all Sanji’s self-control to keep herself from crying, but she managed to hold back her tears. She nodded her head, “Okay, yeah—I think I have a box around here somewhere for Law’s stuff.”

After finding an empty box she had in a closet, they managed to fit all of Law’s things inside. Zoro was looking at the photos she had of them together, it made Sanji feel nervous, but she stayed quiet. He handed them to her with the photo that used to sit on the table by her front door on top, “You seemed happy.”

Sanji added the photos to the box and scowled, “You’re supposed to smile for pictures.”

Zoro didn’t make a comment on what she said, instead he suggested, “We should take some pictures together, put them up around our place.”

_Our place? Oh my god… My heart is fucking pounding! Zoro, how do you do this to me? How can he say these things like it’s nothing?_

She chuckled nervously, “Yeah, okay~”

He looked at her curiously, “Are you blushing?”

“What?! No—” Her eyes were wide with shock, Sanji pressed her hands to her cheeks only to discover they felt warm.

Zoro had a smug grin on his face, honestly Sanji would love to have a picture of _that._ He cocked his eyebrow at her and tilted his head to the side with his arms crossed over his chest, “You can be pretty cute sometimes, curly brow.”

Sanji placed her hands on her hips and furrowed her eyebrows, “You dick.”

His smug look disappeared and was replaced with faux hurt, “That’s no way to accept a compliment.”

Rolling her eye, she retorted, “Oh, is that what you call an insult in Marimoland?”

“Ugh!” Zoro threw his hands up in the air, “Since when is being called cute an insult? You call me cute all the time?!”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, “You’re right, I’m sorry. I suck.”

“What? No, Sanji. You don’t…suck.” He closed the distance between them, Zoro placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead, “It’s fine, I’m not mad.”

Sanji shook her head, “Let’s get out of here,” she smiled up at him, “Let’s go home.”

The smile that crossed his face was so breathtakingly stunning, Sanji felt like she might get a nosebleed. Luckily, she did not and Zoro didn’t seem to mind her going all ga-ga on him. He continued to smile at her as he picked up the box on the table, “Do those bags have wheels?”

“Uuuhhh,” she snapped out of her daydream and answered him with as much dignity as she had left, “The bigger one does, I can take it if you can get the smaller one.”

He balanced the box in one hand and picked up her smaller bag with her bathroom supplies and underwear. Zoro began walking down the hallway to her bedroom, “Will you open the door for me?”

She giggled, “Yeah, but the door’s this way,” and pointed to her left.

A small blush found its way to his face, “Yeah, I knew that—I was moving out of the way.”

“Uh-huh, okay~ whatever you say,” she teased him as she rolled the larger bag to the door and opened it for the two of them.

Zoro followed her out with a slight pout and his cheeks still pink. Once the door was locked behind them, they took the elevator to the ground floor and walked back out to his car. Everything fit in the backseat and after they were buckled-in, Zoro gave her another smile and started the engine. The drive was only five minutes, but it felt like forever, even with Sanji giving him directions.

Once they were back at _their_ place, Sanji felt butterflies in her stomach. Since they weren’t bringing Law’s things into the house, Zoro was able to carry both her bags up the stairs in one trip. It wasn’t like Sanji couldn’t carry the smaller one herself, but Zoro didn’t hesitate to take them both and Sanji wasn’t about to complain about not needing to lift a heavy bag up a flight of stairs.

He ended up bringing them straight to the bedroom and tossed them onto the bed before turning to her with a feral grin, “Now, I want to see those underwear you put on~”

Sanji’s mouth fell open as she stood frozen, just inside the bedroom. There was a small part of her that wanted to tease him and make him beg for what he wanted, but Sanji was also eager to show him.

Slowly, the corners of her mouth curled up and she slipped out of her dress for him, for the second time today. Zoro’s eye was dark with lust and want, for _her._ With only a G-string on, Sanji sauntered over to him with an equally lustful gaze, “I could put that corset on for you too~ do the whole outfit,” she was purring into his ear, running her tongue across his three golden earrings. He appeared to be too stunned to even touch her, “You like that idea~? Have your slut dress up for you?”

When Sanji stepped away from Zoro, he had a devious look in his eye, _“Yes_. Do it.”

She seductively bit her lip and walked to the edge of the bed to open her smaller bag. As she slipped on the stockings and stuck her ass out, Sanji heard Zoro gasp behind her. Deciding to give him a show, Sanji showed off her flexibility by lifting her leg into the air above her head and slid the second stocking down to her mid-thigh before backwards-glancing at Zoro.

With her foot still above her head, Sanji watched in amusement as Zoro stared at her like she was something he wanted to possess and claim. Shit—he probably _does._ The moment his eye met hers, Sanji felt her inner walls tighten with want.

Sanji lowered her leg slowly and wrapped the corset around her back, then began to clasp it in the front. The lace was see-through and there were thin straps that clipped onto the top of her stockings to hold them up. When she was finished, Sanji turned around to face Zoro, “Well~ what do you think?”

His eye wandered up her body, by the time he met her gaze Sanji already knew he liked what he saw. He looked so hot, smoldering, Sanji felt like she was going to melt the moment he finally touched her. But his touch still didn’t come, “How many other men have seen you in that?”

Zoro sounded _pissed._ The hairs on the back of her neck were standing straight up. Despite the fact he was mad, Sanji was getting incredibly aroused as he looked at her as if she was the most incredible and magnificent thing in the world. No man has ever been so possessive towards her like Zoro.

She tried to make her voice sound as normal as possible, but her throat felt dry and her voice came out as a squeak, “Just Law.”

He visibly began to relax, closing his eye and sighing, “Thank god.”

Sanji released her breath, “What if other men _had_ seen me in this?” Her hands were on her hips and she had her eyebrow raised.

“I’d have to kill them.” His expression and tone of voice were a clear indication that he was completely serious.

Dramatically rolling her eyes, Sanji explained, “Zoro, you cannot kill every man I’ve ever been with.”

Zoro shot her an annoyed look, “I wasn’t going to.”

“Great, then we’re on the same page!” She grinned with satisfaction at the grumpy marimo.

He narrowed his gaze and lowered his voice to a gravelly rumble, “Unpack those suitcases; this is your bedroom now, too.”

Sanji felt her shoulders slump and whined, “What? Why right now~?”

Now Zoro was the one who rolled his eye, “Because I want to watch you walk around in that outfit before I rip it off you.”

“What?!” Sanji stared at him with wide-eyes, “You can’t ruin it!”

After taking a deep breath Zoro calmly explained, “Either I ruin that sexy outfit as I fuck you in it, or I’ll have to take care of Law in a less-civilized way.”

Her mouth fell open in horror and she scolded, “Zoro!”

With a smug grin, Zoro shrugged it off, “It’s up to you.”

Sanji could feel herself blushing, this was probably one of the kinkiest things anyone has wanted to do in bed with her. It was exhilarating to have this man’s undivided attention, Sanji was feeling so needy for his touch. “Umm, oh-okay,” she stuttered.

He raised his eyebrow, “’Okay,’ what?”

She gulped, “You can ruin it—but you have to get me a replacement one.”

That cocky grin on his face looked so fucking sexy, it wasn’t fair. Zoro ran his fingers through his hair casually, not seeming to realize how hot he was, and scolded, “Sanji baby, first work, _then_ play.”

Pursing her lips, Sanji pulled her eyebrows together, “Will you at least show me where you have room for my stuff?”

He walked over to the dresser and opened the bottom three drawers out of five, “These are all empty and the closet is huge.” Zoro opened the door to a walk-in closet that was far too large for a man who owned _one_ suit.

“Why the hell do you have such a big closet?! This thing is incredible!” There was a fucking sofa in the middle and it was also completely empty! Zoro literally had no more than ten things hanging up and three pairs of shoes: tennis shoes, black dress shoes, and a pair of boots.

Zoro chuckled, “Nami.”

She cocked her eyebrow in interest, “She designed this place?”

He shook his head, “Not everything, I designed the dojo’s layout and Nami did the upstairs.”

“Huh,” Sanji smiled happily at her new closet, “That explains a lot, actually.”

When she turned back to Zoro, he was scratching the back of his head, “Is that a good or a bad thing?”

Sanji gave him a bright smile, “It’s good. Nami definitely designed this place with me in mind.”

“How did that woman know?” He wondered aloud.

With a small sigh, Sanji shrugged her shoulders, “I guess she just knows us both really well.”

“I still don’t believe it,” he paused thoughtfully, “Nami has always hated me, I don’t know why she thinks I am good enough for you.” Sanji met his gaze overwhelmed with passion, and he admitted, “I want you forever, but I know I’ve done nothing to deserve someone like you for that long.”

She honestly had no idea what to say. Why did he always make her speechless? The night they met Sanji could barely get him to say full sentences and now he was speaking in poems.

He ended up disappearing from the closet, only to reappear with her larger suitcase. When he zipped it open, Sanji removed the several pairs of shoes she packed. Zoro began to unpack her clothes; luckily, she hadn’t taken them off the hangers, so they only needed to be hung up.

When the suitcase was empty, Sanji felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. She walked back into the bedroom and began to put her underwear away in one of the empty dresser drawers. All that was left was her bathroom stuff, she put her tooth brush and paste next to his on the counter. Her shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bar of soap, facewash, and razor were all put into the shower. Then, Sanji brushed her hair for good measure and re-did her hair, keeping it out of her face because she knew Zoro liked it.

She returned to the bedroom to find Zoro sitting on the edge of the bed with a shy, adorable smile, “Sanji?”

“Hmm?” She hummed in response.

Zoro’s gray eye wandered down her figure, seeing right through the lace corset to her hard, pink nipples and the depression of her belly button. She pressed her thighs together and could feel her juices dripping from her core, her skin was slippery with arousal without him even touching her. His gaze alone made Sanji feel as if she was being fucked out of her mind. His aura was pleased, satisfied as he purred, “I believe I was told I could ruin that outfit.”

Sanji cleared her throat, “Yes, you were.” She tried her best to sound calm, but her mind was racing.

He bit his lip and beckoned her closer with his finger, “Let me get a closer look, sexy.”

After taking a few steps closer, Sanji was standing in front of Zoro. Her body ached for his touch, but she managed to keep most of her composure as she batted her eyelashes and bit her lip seductively at him, “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

That comment only made him smirk, “Not this outfit. This one has to be destroyed.”

“You are fucking crazy, you know that?” Sanji couldn’t believe how casually he talked about this kind of shit.

“Crazy in love,” if his smile wasn’t so damn beautiful, Sanji would’ve kicked his teeth in for saying something so damn corny.

Instead, she glared at him, “You are such an idiot. I don’t even know if I still _want_ to have sex with you~”

She was only teasing, but Zoro seemed to take her seriously, “Oh…” He sounded disheartened, “I’m sorry, do you not like it when I tell you I love you?”

Sanji felt like she just got kicked by Zeff in the gut, “No, I do! I just—no man has ever told me they loved me before—not even Zeff. He isn’t the best with words and feelings, if you know what I mean.”

Oddly enough, Zoro chuckled at what she had said, “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

“Ughhh!” Sanji was feeling a whole lot like that herself and asked aloud, “Why does my chest feel so… _weird_ when I’m around you?”

As she was internally freaking out, her heart pounding and stomach flip-flopping, Zoro reached out and took her hands in his. Immediately her body relaxed and when she stared at him through tear-filled eyes, he smiled softly, “Just give it some thought, it’ll come to you.”

Pouting her lips, Sanji whined, “Zoro~”

“What?” He inquired, “Do you want me to play with you now?”

After giving his suggestion some thought, Sanji nodded her head and gave him her best puppy-dog eyes.

That sexy, smug grin was back on his stoic face, “Get on your hands and knees at the center of our bed.”

_Our bed… I like the sound of that!_

Her inside muscles clenched with desire as Zoro ordered her around. Sanji did as she was told and stuck her ass high into the air behind her.

Zoro moved behind her, “Fuck, you’ve got such a great ass, baby.”

She felt his hands on her ass cheeks, spreading her farther apart and Sanji couldn’t contain the strangled moan that came from her.

He groaned in delight, “Sanji~ you slut. You are so fucking wet, and I’ve hardly touched you.”

Whimpering into the mattress, Sanji instinctively tightened her inner walls from the dirty talk and felt more fluid running down her leg.

Suddenly Zoro’s tongue was stopping it in its tracks and retraced its course. When he got to her center, he caught the G-string between his teeth and pulled it away only for it to snap back down and hit her clit.

 _“Aaah~ Zoro!”_ She clenched her muscles and whimpered, _“Please~ I need your cock!”_

He chuckled against her thigh, “Oh baby, you’re gonna have to wait for that~”

Sanji wiggled her ass in front of his face and whined, _“Zoro~ please~ I need you to at least touch me~”_

There was a loud slap that cracked across her left ass cheek, “Quit whining, I know what my slut needs—be patient.”

A moment later two of his thick fingers were sliding inside of her and his tongue was circling her asshole. Sanji threw her head back and screamed, _“AAAAHHH~! ZORO~! FUCK! I—I’m cuming… I’m cuming… Ahhh~!”_

Her legs were beginning to shake, Zoro used his free-hand to hold her body steady. He was licking up her cum that was streaming out of her and smacked his lips, “This is my _favorite_ thing you can make.”

 _“Uuuuhh~ Zoro~ please fuck me~”_ Sanji still wasn’t satisfied.

“What did I tell you about whining?” He slapped his hand against her clit and made her cum again, “You fucking _slut._ I don’t even _need_ to give you my cock to make you cum, do I?” Sanji was breathing heavily, coming down from the high of her last orgasm; Zoro slapped her clit again and growled, _“Answer me.”_

 _“NO! You don’t need to give me your cock to make me cum~”_ She was so aroused, Sanji felt like a horny teenager around Zoro.

He hummed with delight, then began to slap her clit repeatedly and making Sanji fall apart, _“Yeah, baby~ keep on cuming. You sound so pretty, moaning for me like that, it must feel good, huh?”_

 _“Oh god…YES! Fuck, Zoro! Yes! Aaahh~ aah~ uuuhhh~”_ His fingers returned inside of her and Sanji screamed louder, _“AAHHH~! ZORO! FUCK~! BABY! FUCK—HARDER~!”_

As Zoro fingered her harder, he also continued to lick her asshole and slowly pushed his tongue past her first tight ring. Then there was the occasional pinch on her clit, reminding Sanji that he had complete control over her.

The sounds she was making were no longer coherent, Sanji lost count of how many times she’d cum. Zoro just did that to her—she was able to be completely open and defenseless, without worrying about him hurting or betraying her. She could relax and let go of her troubles, forget her past and ditch her baggage.

It didn’t feel like they had just met a week ago, and it wasn’t because they had a mutual friend in Nami. There was something deeper that Sanji felt when she was around Zoro. She had been drawn to him from the moment she first laid eyes on him. It was like her soul recognized his.

He was everything she admired in a man: self-made, successful, strong-minded, confident—but not _too_ confident, isn’t afraid to apologize and admit when he makes a mistake. Zoro was a man who didn’t half-ass things, he was either all-in or all-out.  His world was in black and white, no gray areas—whereas Sanji felt like hers was in vibrant color.

For her whole life, Sanji had dreamed that she’d one day meet a guy who wanted _her._ She was never the prettiest girl in the class, or the smartest. She was a performer; a charmer and she was never able to let down her walls and really be herself around someone. Zoro brought light into her life, he made her see an end to her lonely nights and boring weekends. The light at the end of the tunnel—he was the one she had been waiting for, the one she was destined to be with.

Zoro was tonguing her asshole and rubbing a sweet spot inside her with his fingers. She was panting and moaning, but managed to gasp, _“Zoro! Fuck me!”_

“My, my, my…” He flicked her clit three times, each one harder than the last, causing her to cum more on his fingers. Zoro pulled his fingers from her pussy and began circling her asshole instead. He pushed a thick digit into her puckered hole and groaned, _“Your ass is so tight, baby~”_

 _“Uuhhh… Zoro~”_ She couldn’t stop herself from clenching around his finger and sucking him in deeper.

 _“Shit~ Sanji, baby…”_ He pushed another finger into her hole and began to scissor her ass, _“Want to get fucked in that perfect ass of yours?”_

 _“MMMM ZORO!”_ There was no way she could answer that right now, so many thoughts were flooding Sanji’s mind, worrying that maybe Zoro didn’t want to do this with her. But she remembered what he had said about Zeff—that he wouldn’t have done what he did if he didn’t want to—she knew Zoro was the same way.

 _“Answer me, Sanji.”_ His fingers pressed against a delicious spot deep inside her asshole.

 _“Fuck~! Yes! Yes, I want you to fuck me in my ass!”_ Sanji was rocking herself back and forth on Zoro’s fingers as he had them inside her.

He scoffed from behind her and pulled his hand from her ass, “Not tonight.”  Zoro gently circled her stretched hole with his finger tip before pulling it back and spanking her, hard.

Sanji gasped from shock and jumped, “Hey!”

Zoro held her in place with his fingers pinching her clit, _“Oh~ baby~ you don’t know what you want. But I do.”_ Sanji whimpered from his touch and clenched her inner walls. _“I know that sweet pussy of yours wants my dick in it. I can see how much you ache and need me to fill you up.”_

 _“Uuhhh~ yes… Please~ Zoro~”_ At this point, she should really know better than to whine, but she couldn’t help it amd did it anyway.

Clicking his tongue three times, Zoro pulled himself away and she felt his weight leave the bed. When she turned around, she saw he was undressing himself.

_Looks like my whining worked on him after-all! It’s about damn time! I want his dick inside me already!_

When he came back onto the bed, Zoro kneeled in front of her face. His huge erection was standing proudly before her very eyes. Sanji could see the bubble of precum at his tip and opened her mouth eagerly.

A pleased grin formed across his face, “You suck on that like a good girl now, and when you’re done, we’ll see if you deserve my cock, okay?”

Sanji wrapped her mouth around him quickly and skillfully swirled her tongue around his head, applying the perfect amount of suction and pressure. She watched Zoro’s mouth fall open and his eye roll back into his head before taking him deeper into her mouth. His fingers gripped onto her hair but didn’t force himself down her throat.

To show her appreciation that he was letting her do her own thing, Sanji took his entire length into her mouth before popping his dick out and sucking in one of his balls, _“OH FUCK!”_ She felt him jerk up from the unfamiliar feeling and gently jerked him off as she slobbered all over his balls and nearing his release. Sanji stuck Zoro’s cock back inside her mouth and eagerly sucked on him, _“Sanji~ FUCK! I’m gonna cum!”_

His hot semen shot into the back of her throat and Sanji greedily swallowed it all down. There were few things Sanji enjoyed more than getting her partner off and with Zoro it was even more satisfying. She didn’t know if it was because he was inexperienced and sensitive, or because Zoro was literally the hottest man who’s ever lived, but Sanji really liked showing off her oral skills to him. After he was licked clean, Sanji gazed up at him through her eyelashes, “How was that?”

Zoro groaned, _“Fuck…”_ He ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her up to his mouth for a hard kiss. When Sanji opened her eyes, Zoro’s was dark with lust, _“You drive me crazy, woman.”_

Her lips were swollen from his kiss, her whole body ached with want. She wanted to tell him that _he_ was the one driving _her_ crazy, but before Sanji had a chance to, Zoro’s mouth was back on hers and she was being pressed into the mattress beneath her.

Sanji could barely comprehend what was being done to her at this point. She had no idea how many times she had cum but she wasn’t _nearly_ satisfied. She could feel Zoro’s hands running along her body but was too distracted by his kiss to realize what he was really doing. It wasn’t until there was a loud rip of fabric that Sanji snapped out of whatever trance Zoro’s touch had put her in.

Her eyes went wide with horror at what she saw, “ZORO!” He had somehow managed to shred the lace of her corset with only his hands, leaving her torso bare and exposed to him—not that the corset really covered her to begin with.

With that sexy smirk on his lips, Zoro tossed the ruined garment to the floor, “Don’t worry, I’ll buy you something else—something only _I_ will get to see you in.”

She didn’t know what she should be feeling. There was a part of her that wanted to be mad he would actually tear apart her clothes, and it was silly for him to be so adamant about not having other men see her like this, especially when Sanji had slept with more men than she could honestly remember. But despite the fact he had destroyed such a sexy outfit, the way he acted so possessive and jealous about it turned Sanji on a great deal. She was still not used to the idea of a man wanting her to himself instead of it being the other way around.

Still at a loss for words, Sanji was staring up at Zoro from on the bed. Words weren’t really necessary though, because he seemed to know exactly what she wanted by just looking into her eyes. He grabbed her chin and kissed her firmly before licking along her jaw to whisper in her ear, _“I’m going to fuck you so hard, I’ll make sure you can’t walk straight.”_

 _“Uhhhh~! ZORO~”_ It took all her willpower not to beg again, she didn’t want him to change his mind. As he was positioning himself between her legs, Sanji couldn’t stop her body from shaking.

Zoro rubbed his head against her opening before sheathing himself inside of her, _“Sanji…”_

A soft whimper came from her throat as she felt Zoro filling her up, _“Zoro~”_

He had his face buried into her neck, one of his hands at her hip and the other on her thigh, _“You feel so fucking warm…”_

 _“Uuuuh~ move~ damnit!”_ Sanji bucked her hips up to him in protest at his lack of thrusting.

Sanji heard the deep growl of Zoro’s voice say, _“I’ll make you regret that.”_

Then he snapped his hips back and forth, slamming himself deep inside of her, over and over, again. Sanji’s whole body was singing with delight, there was a powerful orgasm that seemed to light up all her nerve endings, causing them to tingle from the sensation. Zoro’s relentless pace was almost too much to handle, but Sanji liked being fucked like this—like there were no limits. She liked that Zoro wasn’t afraid to pound into her like this, show her just how powerful and strong he was.

Honest;y, if Sanji was interested in having gentle sex, she would be into wimpy guys. Zoro was physically and mentally strong, he was dependable and trustworthy. He was quite literally her dream man, and he was a fucking _monster_ in bed.

As Sanji was moaning and screaming incoherent phrases into the room, Zoro was whispering into her ear, _“You love my cock, don’t you? Love having it far up that wet pussy of yours… You’re clenching onto me so tight~ I know how badly you wanted this, baby~ And you were so good~ I need to reward my little slut for being so good…”_

 _“AAAAH~! ZORO!!!”_ Sanji could feel herself squeezing around his thick member as he continued to relentlessly pound deep inside of her. She gasped when he hit that wonderful spot, _“RIGHT THERE, ZORO! RIGHT THERE! DON’T STOP!”_

He growled and sucked on her earlobe, _“You really think I’d be done with you so soon?”_

Sanji whimpered and tightened her grip around his torso when he started hitting that sweet spot. The sounds that she was making were pathetic, Sanji was unable to control how badly her legs were shaking. The only thing she could do besides moan and scream in pleasure was dig her nails into Zoro’s back.

 _“Fuck~ Sanji,”_ he breathed into her ear, _“Scratch the shit outta my back, baby~ Make it bleed for all I care—I want to know how much you love getting fucked by me!”_

 _“ZORO~!”_ Sanji’s whole body felt like it was on fire—but in a good way. Her legs were shaking, her pussy throbbing, her core ached, her lungs heaved, and Sanji’s arms were clenched around Zoro, hanging on for dear life. _“FUCK! Fuck, fuck, fuck baby~! SHIT! AAAAUUH~ ZORO-ZORO-ZORO-ZORO! I LOVE IT! YOU MAKE ME FEEL SO~ GOOD, BABY!”_

She could vaguely feel his teeth nipping at her throat, but Sanji was so focused on what was going on down south, she didn’t care. Then he broke through her skin and she felt another orgasm wash over her, _“AHH~ FUCK!”_

At the very least, Sanji was shocked. She never had a man try and bite her in bed before, so not only was it completely new, but her reaction to it was completely unexpected. Sanji didn’t really mind it though—having a sexy man like Zoro bite her hard enough to draw blood—it made her feel like he was making a claim on her.

After he stopped biting her, Zoro licked and kissed at the spot on her shoulder, while whispering, _“I’ve been wanting to mark you since I first saw you.”_

 _“Uuuuhhh~”_ All the air rushed out of her lungs in her moan, Zoro was just too fucking sexy.

He pushed himself up from her, but never stopped thrusting his hips or slowing his pace. Zoro moved his hands up her body to her breasts and began to knead them together, _“You’ve got such great tits… Maybe I’ll fuck these sometime.”_

Sanji’s breath hitched before a strangled moan came from her throat.

Zoro hummed in delight, his breath was getting heavy, _“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Such a slut, you want my cock anywhere you can get it, don’t you?”_

She knew that ignoring his questions would not be in her best interest and probably upset him, so she eagerly answered, _“MMMMM~ YES~ YES~ YES, ZORO~!”_

There was that sexy grin on his face, if it wasn’t for that distracting her, Sanji might’ve noticed he had slid one of his hands down to her ass and pushed a finger inside, _“You even want my cock in this tight ass of yours, don’t you?”_

A loud gasp came from her, _“Yessss~! Oh, god~ YES!”_

 _“Hmmm,”_ Zoro groaned with pleasure, _“And that ass of yours belongs to ME.”_

His finger pushed deeper inside and Sanji cried out in pleasure, _“OH~ ZORO~ YES, YES, YES!”_

 _“Mmm, that’s what I like to hear!”_ Suddenly, Zoro’s dick and finger were no longer inside of her and Sanji was being flipped over onto her chest. Before she had time to complain, his cum-soaked erection was back inside her again, only this time he was fucking her much, much harder.

 _“AAAAHH!!!”_ Sanji was screaming as he hit a spot deep inside her. It felt like he was rubbing his tip against her cervix, probing it for entrance, but Sanji knew there was no way for him to fit. She knew that vaginas could expand and what-not, but the cervix was the stopping point—nothing was getting passed there.

Most of the guys she had been with were nothing to brag about, it was like their muscles were compensation for their tiny dicks. Zoro’s dick was _by far_ the biggest Sanji ever had—not that size was the only thing that mattered, because it wasn’t, technique and stamina and dirty talk were important things, too. The great thing about Zoro was he was incredible at all these things—and since he was a virgin just the day before, it made it even better.

Zoro hadn’t done this with anyone else. He never touched someone like this before, and Sanji had never been so completely enamored by a man. There was absolutely no competition in his eye—Sanji was the only one he cared about enough to do this with. For that, Sanji felt honored and lucky as hell. _She_ got to be the one who was loved by this man, who drove him crazy, who he would mark and claim, who he would fuck mercilessly.

He had wrapped her hair around his hand and held it firmly in his fist, Zoro’s other hand left her waist and slapped her ass, _“You fucking like that don’t you, slut?”_

She felt him slap her ass again as he continued slamming into her as deep as he could, _“AAH~!”_ Sanji squeezed tightly around his cock and moaned, _“I love~ getting spanked.”_

That smirk she loved, oh-so-much appeared on his face, however she only got to see it for a moment before he pushed her face into the mattress. _“Now I know not to punish you that way~”_

The thought of being punished by Zoro was incredibly arousing, _“But I haven’t done anything~!”_

Suddenly, Zoro stopped thrusting into her and pulled out, leaving her pussy aching for his cock to fill it backup. He tugged on her hair until she was kneeling in front of him with his chest against her back. Her breathing was heavy as she awaited what she could only assume was her punishment. She felt his breath against her neck and he whispered seductively in her ear, _“What’d I say about whining, Sanji?”_

Her breath caught in her throat, but she stayed silent.

Zoro tugged on her hair until she was facing him and gazed dangerously into her eyes, _“I know what you need, I’ll give it all to you, just be patient.”_ Then he kissed her deeply and passionately, Sanji was breathless and gasping for air every opportunity she had.

When Zoro finally let her go, Sanji felt dizzy from the kiss he’d given her. She couldn’t understand how one man could be so… _perfect._

There had been countless men in her life, but most of them were jerks—hell, _all_ of them were jerks. If Sanji was being honest, she was quite vain and not about to sleep with _anybody_ who wasn’t _at least_ a _nine_ out of ten. Why were the hot ones always the biggest assholes? Not like it mattered, Sanji was never really that interested in any of them other than their looks, anyway. She couldn’t help that when she went to college, she’d been a major flirt and slept around with all the hottest guys on campus—it was just _natural_ to her.

_But, god, Zoro is nothing like any of the men I’ve ever been with. He is more like a twenty in the looks department, and his personality is completely unexpected, considering. I don’t think I’ve ever met a man who was so damn oblivious to how hot they are. But FUCK, he sure does know that I love how he can fuck me, and I really want him to be doing it again._

Sanji focused on his gray eye, still black with lust and with as much control as possible, she ordered him, “Fuck me, Zoro.”

He cocked his eyebrow and Sanji saw the corner of his mouth twitch up into a smirk and teased, “Why should I~?”

She bit her lip to prevent her mouth from falling open, then batted her eyelashes and purred, _“Because I’m such a little slut for you and I need to feel your cock ramming deep inside of me.”_

His jaw was the one that dropped, but Zoro quickly recovered with that sexy smirk on his face again, “I guess I’ve punished you long enough, then…”

Before she had any time to react to finding out what her punishment had been, Zoro had pushed her face back into the mattress and swiftly entered her a moment later. Sanji could feel his balls slapping against her clit with every thrust, and she could hear the sound getting wetter and wetter.

 _“This what you wanted?”_ Zoro grunted as he slammed his cock as deep inside of her as her could.

The force of his thrusts pushed the air from Sanji’s lungs, _“Hyyuuhh!”_

There was a small, low chuckle before Zoro thrust into her again, “What was that?” He thrust again, harder and growled, _“I can’t hear you.”_

 _“YES!!! OH FUCK~ YES, ZORO! YES!”_ He was no longer thrusting into her and Sanji was desperate to have him continue, she caught herself before she started whining, though.

 _“GOOD.”_ His voice was firm and final, _“That’s my good girl.”_

Zoro pulled her hips down on his member as he snapped his hips forward, Sanji felt herself falling apart from pure bliss, _“Aaaahh~ Zoro! Fuck~ baby~ fuck… AAAAAH~ baby, baby, oh god, Zoro! Zoro! SHIT! AAAAAAUUHHH!!!”_

 _“See, baby~ I know exactly what you need. Remember that,”_ Zoro hit a sweet spot and Sanji squeezed tightly around him, her pussy aching from all the filling. He pulled her body against his and began to kiss her, his tongue taking advantage of her open mouth to explore.

That certainly didn’t stop him from thrusting himself deep inside her, though. In fact, Zoro had taken advantage of her flexibility and turned Sanji so her feet were up by his shoulders. His hands were on her hips pulling her into him and hitting her sweet spot, _“AAAAHHHH~ ZORO~ ZORO~ ZORO~ ZORO!!! YES!! FUCK~ BABY, YES!”_

His expression was changing and Sanji had a feeling he was getting close. She reached around to his back and dug at his skin with her fingernails, dragging them all the way down his spine as hard as she could—despite the fact she hated using her hands for fighting, but this was different.

By the time her hands were on his ass and Zoro was bouncing her much smaller body up and down on his huge erection, he was grunting with every thrust until he announced, _“I’m gonna cum, open your mouth!”_

Sanji did as she was told and Zoro set her on the bed and put his dick in her face. With great enthusiasm, she sucked him into her mouth and after a couple of head-bobs, he came in her mouth, _“SANJI! FUCK!”_

There was a screaming ache in her core from being pounded into so fiercely, Sanji was certain that was exactly what Zoro had wanted. Still, it ached and sort-of hurt, she was afraid to move.

Since the bedsheets were being washed, they were on the mattress itself, which was really nice—one of those foam ones that contours around you. Sanji hoped she didn’t get any of her juices on it and decided to clean herself up. When she tried to get up, she shouted, “OH, FUCK! I can’t move my damn legs!”

Zoro stirred beside her on the bed and the next thing she knew, they were back in the bathtub together like the day before.

The water was nice and warm, it smelled nice thanks to the bubble bath Nami had gotten for Zoro. Sanji felt incredibly relaxed as she leaned her back against his chest, she really did enjoy spending time with him. He was always so considerate and thoughtful to her, he was certainly the best man she’d ever been with. That still didn’t answer the nagging thought in her mind and Sanji wondered aloud, “How do you know that you want to marry me?”

He reached his hand up and turned her to face him, “Because I love you and never want another day to go by that you’re not a part of.”

She thought for a moment, then asked, “Have you ever thought of getting married before?”

“No. Never.” Zoro was so confident about everything, it was a little unnerving to say the least.

Sanji was going to put his offer to ask him about anything to the test, “If I were to say that I didn’t want to get married to you, what would you do?”

“I’d have to ask you why,” the way he said it as if it were obvious annoyed her, but then he added, “Then I’d decide if it was a good enough reason, or not, and try to be better.”

She nodded her head thoughtfully, “So if I told you that you’d need to get permission from Zeff?”

“I’ll get it.” Zoro stated firmly.

“What if he says ‘no.’ Then what?” Sanji asked.

Zoro sighed, “I would ask him why and try to make him change his mind.”

Sanji sighed as well, “You’re unbelievable.”

Chuckling slightly, he asked, “Is that a good unbelievable or a bad unbelievable?”

After giving it a moment of consideration Sanji answered, “Probably a bit of both.”

“Eh,” he shrugged his shoulders, “Whatever.”

Only a moment went by before Sanji asked, _“Why_ do you want to marry _me?”_

“Sanji,” he said, making her turn to face him, “You are special. I’m not like you, I can’t walk up to someone and instantly have a conversation. I can’t talk to anyone like I do with you.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Sanji was rather confused by the answer he gave.

Zoro sighed again and turned Sanji so she was straddling him in the bathtub. “I don’t usually talk so much, but when I’m with you, it’s easy.”

“So, what?” She wondered, “What’s so special about me?”

“Baby, you need to stop that,” he was frowning at her with a stern look in his eye, “You are special. I’ve never felt this close with someone—ever.”

Sanji scoffed, “That’s only because you’ve never had sex before.”

“Our relationship is more than just sex, Sanji.” He snapped.

She looked away from his glaring eye, “Well that’s all I know!” Her voice broke at the very end and Sanji felt her lips begin to quiver.

Zoro reached up from the water and gently stroked her cheek, “Sanji, I love you. I’ve never met anyone like you before. I love everything about you and I wouldn’t change a damn thing. I want to experience a lifetime together with you because you’re my favorite person to be with. I want to marry you because I want to be your partner in life and make you officially mine.”

“What if I told you I chain smoke cigarettes?” She asked curiously.

He gave her an odd look, “I’ve never seen you smoke,” but he shrugged his shoulders, “I’ve got alcoholic tendencies.”

“I used to chain smoke cigarettes…” Since he stayed quiet Sanji continued, “I’ve cut down to one a day.”

That made him frown, “Is that why you didn’t stay last night?”

“What? No—I didn’t stay because I can’t think straight around you!” She didn’t mean to shout at him, but she couldn’t help it, she was frustrated.

His shoulders sunk slightly, then Zoro perked up, “And you think I’m the idiot.”

“WHAT?!” Since she was straddling him, Sanji wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed his head under the water for a few moments before his finger going into her asshole surprised her and she let him go.

When he came up for air he had a look of pure amusement in his eye, “Do you know how to fight?”

She almost snapped at him for putting his finger in her asshole, or for sounding surprised that she’d know how to fight, but ultimately, she just told him the truth, “Yeah, Zeff taught me.”

“Hmm,” he thought for a moment then added, “We should spar sometime.”

Sanji shrugged at that, “Yeah, okay.”

He raised his eyebrow, as if he hadn’t expected her to go along with it but didn’t make another comment on the matter. Instead he pulled her back into his big, strong arms and gave her a passionate kiss.

After their bath, they ate the leftovers from lunch for their dinner while sitting at the couch and watching an old movie. They laughed at the jokes together and cuddled when they were finished eating. By the time the movie was over, Zoro had fallen asleep on the couch behind her.

Sanji decided to take this time to quick wash up the dishes and finish up the laundry Zoro had. She made the bed and checked the time, it was already eight-thirty.

Once she was back in the living room, Sanji leaned over and gave Zoro a kiss. She watched as he slowly woke up, blinking until he was able to focus and smiled that handsome smile of his, “That was a nice way to wake up.” He stretched his arms out, “How long was I out?”

“Not too long, I finished the dishes and laundry, the bed is made, so let’s get ready,” she offered her hand to him and gave him a bright, happy smile—wanting to reassure him that doing the dishes and laundry was certainly not something she minded.

He took her hand and Sanji helped lift him from the couch, which seemed to surprise Zoro, “You’re stronger than you look, curly brow.”

Her eyebrow twitched, “I’m plenty strong, don’t underestimate me.”

The look in his eye was wild, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Sanji smirked, “Good. Now, let’s brush our teeth and go to bed.”

That’s exactly what they did. Sanji couldn’t help the smile on her lips as she did such a thing. This was the first time she had spent the night with a man and not be worried that he would be upset to still see her there in the morning.

Once she was in a tank top and shorts that she slept in, Sanji joined Zoro under the covers and he pulled her back to his chest. As she relaxed in his warm, comforting embrace, Sanji quickly fell asleep with the words, “I love you,” being whispered in her ear.

When the sun began peeking through the windows, Sanji slowly blinked and rubbed her eyes open. The very first thing that came into focus was Zoro’s sleepy smile and his gaze on her.

She smiled back at him, “Good morning, handsome.”

“Good mornin’,” Zoro’s smile grew larger, “How’d you sleep?”

“Mmmm,” she curled up against his body and nuzzled his chest, “So~ well.”

His strong arms wrapped around her, “Me too,” and he began to kiss the top of her head.

Sanji giggled at him, “Your body is like a furnace.”

With a content sigh, Zoro ignored what she said and found her lips with his. Normally Sanji would never do such a thing as kiss a man before she had the chance to get rid of her morning breath, but that seemed to be the last thing on Zoro’s mind as he completely devoured her with his kiss.

He pulled away, just far enough he could whisper across her lips, “You look gorgeous when you’ve just woken up.”

She felt his hands wander down her body to her ass and begin to gently squeeze her cheeks in his hands, causing her to moan, _“Uuuh~ Zoro…”_

Then her shorts were gone, and his hand was cupping her sex, his two fingers spreading her lips apart, _“So eager for me, aren’t you?”_

 _“Uhh-huuuh~”_ She couldn’t help it if she sounded needy, Sanji _was_ needy.

He chuckled deeply next to her ear, the sound went straight to her core and Sanji felt herself leaking onto his fingers, _“Even after I fucked you so hard last night, you still can’t get enough of me.”_

Sanji whimpered when she felt one of Zoro’s fingers slip inside of her. She didn’t realize how _sore_ she could feel there, _“Uhhh Zoro~”_

That was when his head disappeared to between her legs and Sanji felt his tongue lick up all the juices she had excreted. He moaned against her throbbing pussy, _“Sanji… you slut!”_

 _“MMMMM~!”_ Sanji arched her back and came, her orgasm rushing through her like a shot of strong liquor.

Zoro certainly was skilled with his mouth. His tongue lapped up whatever flowed out of her, poked and rubbed deep inside her pussy. There were moments where Sanji couldn’t stop herself from pulling his face closer and wrapping her legs around his head.

She’d already came a few times before he finally pushed himself up and straddled her neck, nearly sitting on her chest. Before she had time to ask questions, Zoro had pulled out his dick and was pushing it into her open mouth. _“Fuck~ Sanji… Use that dirty mouth on me.”_

With her impeccable skills, Sanji wrapped her mouth around Zoro’s cock and swirled her tongue around his head. It wasn’t long before his breathing became labored and Sanji tasted his cum in her mouth.

Sanji never had morning sex, she wasn’t used to having a man with her when she woke up in the first place. Everything she did with Zoro was so new to her, it didn’t matter how many men she’d been with—none of them were like Zoro. This kind of relationship was completely new for her, and him.

After swallowing down his cum, Sanji caught her breath and crawled on top of Zoro’s chest. As she was kissing his large scar, she told him, “I love you.”

Beneath her lips, Sanji could feel his heart beat pick up in speed, “You do?”

“Yeah,” she sighed into his chest, “I do.”

Zoro’s arms were back around her as he kissed her head, “I love you, too.”

They stayed in bed like that, not saying anything, just enjoying each other’s presence before they finally got up.

It was six-thirty on Monday morning, Sanji cooked them breakfast while Zoro was stretching in the living room. She fried up some eggs, sausage, and potatoes, but also cut up some fresh fruit because she wanted to make sure he was eating a balanced diet—especially with how much training he must do to be in that kind of shape.

“Breakfast is ready!” She called to him as she was bringing their plates to the dinner table and went back into the kitchen to get them both a glass of water.

When she returned to the table Zoro was sitting down with an adorable grin, “This looks good.”

Sanji set down the glasses of water and took her seat, “Well, yeah~,” she teased, _“I~_ made it.”

He rolled his eye at her comment, but began to eat and groan in satisfaction, “Mmmm, everything you make is delicious.” Sanji caught his eye and he winked with a devilishly handsome grin.

She immediately felt her cheeks burn up from blushing so hard, Sanji _had_ to turn away and take a drink of water to calm down.

They finished breakfast in silence and did the same with the dishes. It wasn’t until they were done when Zoro asked, “What time do you have to be at work?”

It was already seven-twelve, Sanji told him, “I usually get there before eight.”

He nodded, “Okay, well you don’t have a far way to go.”

That made her smile, “That’s true~” Sanji went up on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on his cheek, “I should go get ready.”

Zoro let out a long breath and scratched the back of his head, “I’ll be downstairs.”

She was smiling like an idiot, but she didn’t care, this was the best morning Sanji ever had.

While she dressed herself in an emerald green dress that had a high neckline to cover most of the marks Zoro had given her, Sanji hummed a happy love song to herself. After brushing her teeth, applying her makeup, and fixing her hair into a sophisticated up-do, Sanji grabbed her bag and keys, then headed downstairs to say goodbye to Zoro.

He wasn’t that hard to find. All Sanji had to do was follow the loud sounds of weights clinking together. Though when she entered to room, she was completely stunned by what she saw.

“One thousand five hundred forty-four, one thousand five hundred forty-five,” Zoro was swinging around two bars with a ridiculous amount of weight on them as if they were swords. “One thousand five hundred fifty…” He tossed the weights to the floor, “Are you leaving for work?”

As he wiped himself off with a towel, Sanji couldn’t take her eyes away. It was the first time she saw him training and flexing his muscles like that. She also noticed that she managed to give his back some bright red scratch marks, “Uhh, yeah…”

When he turned to face her, there was an amused look on his handsome face, “You alright, curly brow?”

She wrinkled her nose, “I’m fine.” After shaking her head, she added, “No wonder you can make me so sore.”

Zoro had a wild look in his eye, “That way you’ll think of me every time you move.”

Sanji felt rather irritated by how sexy he looked, not for the reasons one might expect, but because she knew she was too sore and didn’t have enough time to get fucked by him right now. So, with a deep sigh, Sanji gave him a quick kiss on the lips, “Have a nice day, see you later.”

“Wait! Can I visit you for lunch or dinner?” He asked in an uncharacteristically sweet voice.

She playfully rolled her eyes, but smiled at him as she said, “You can do whatever you want, but it doesn’t mean you’ll get to see me.”

He pouted at her, then narrowed his eye, “Fine.”

_Fuck, he looks so damn adorable when he gets all pouty like that. Zoro is so easy to tease…well, sometimes._

Sanji giggled at him, “Don’t hurt yourself, marimo.”

Zoro put his hands on her hips and gave her a kiss, it was soft and sweet, but left her breathless. He smirked sexily, “I’ll be fine. Have a nice day at work,” Sanji was already walking away as he yelled to her, “I love you!”

She gave him her brightest smile, blew him a kiss, then left the dojo and walked next door to start another week of work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> This is the first chapter I'm posting in the new year! Yayyy happy 2019!  
> So yeah, I didn't realize how long this chapter actually was until I was all finished, I just wanted to make sure Law's chapter would fit in next with the story line. Hope no one minded having such a long chapter, like honestly, 12,000 words is the longest chapter I've ever written.  
> Anyway, I've been progressing Zoro and Sanji's relationship quite quickly, I can't help myself though, because they are just so perfect for each other! Gyaaah~ *goes heart-eyed*  
> I hope ya'll enjoy the smut I've written, lol. I know, I'm a freak. Never in my life have I taken being weird as an insult, and I'm not going to start now. Last chapter didn't have that much, so I wanted to put quite a lot into this one.  
> Alright, so leave a comment, let me know what you think of this chapter :) I am currently working on Law's chapter and I am curious if anyone would be interested in reading Law x Sanji or Law x Bonney smut. Also just curious to hear any suggestions or ideas of what you, my readers, are interested in. Thank you for reading <3
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	12. History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
> 
> Alrighty~ here is Law's chapter! It is almost 15,000 words and loaded with lemons and smut, enjoy!

*Two Years Earlier*

“LAW WAIT!” Shachi called after him as he was getting ready to leave.

He repressed the urge to snap his neck and instead snapped at him, “What is it, Shachi-ya? My shift was supposed to be over two hours ago. I’m leaving.”

“That hot blonde from _All Blue_ is in the emergency room!” Shachi rushed his words to explain, “She needs some stitches, looked like she cut her hand.”

After registering what Shachi had told him, Law closed his locker, keeping his wallet, phone, and keys in his pocket. He walked out of the men’s locker room and made his way down the hallway to the stairs.

The random questions shouted at him by Shachi about what he was going to do went ignored. If Shachi had to ask, he wasn’t thinking hard enough.

Once he entered the emergency room, Law spotted Penguin, “Where is she?”

He seemed startled by the sudden question, but he pointed down the hall, “Room 208.”

Law walked straight to the room and removed her chart from outside the door. As he glanced it over he tried to calm his racing heart and get a grip.

_Sanji… okay, let’s see if she’s as sexy as I remember._

Once he pushed the door open and entered the room, Law kept his expression indifferent, even though his mind was screaming at him that his memory really hadn’t done her any justice at all. This woman was hot and blonde, had a sexy body and thick legs that any straight man would love to have wrapped around their waist.

As she gave him a once over, the sexiest grin he’d ever seen crossed her plump lips, “Well, hello~ doctor.”

“Evening. I’m actually a heart surgeon, but we’re a little understaffed so I’ll be stitching your hand up for you tonight.” Law gave her a small smirk, “Have you been waiting long?”

She grinned wider and elegantly waved her good hand, “No, I suppose not _too_ long.” As Law began to prepare his instruments to stitch her hand, she continued the conversation, “The last guy who was in here to give me Novocain and clean the damn thing wasn’t _nearly_ as handsome as _you,_ though~”

Law cocked his eyebrow, this was going to be far easier than he initially expected it to be. Being careful not to appear as surprised as he was, Law’s smirk grew wider, “You aren’t bad yourself.”

With her good hand, the sexy woman dramatically fanned herself, “Tell me your name, Mister Heart Surgeon.”

“Law.”

She hummed, _“Law,”_ then bit her lower lip and Law had never seen anything sexier in his life. “It suits you.”

To distract himself from her gaze, Law glanced back at her chart to act like he didn’t remember her name, “Ahh, well, thank you Sanji-ya.”

Her unusual curly eyebrow raised, “Sanji _-ya?”_

“It’s just something I do,” he offered as an explanation.

Sanji seemed to accept it and watched as he began to stitch the cut on her hand, “That Novocain is something else, I can’t feel any of that.”

Law chuckled as he skillfully tied the first stitch, “Yeah, it’s good stuff.” Neither of them said another word while he added three more stitches to close the cut, but the room was thick with sexual tension. After he tied and cut the final stitch, Law casually offered, “Okay, well my shift is over now and you’re free to come with me back to my place.”

“Oh~ lucky me!” The grin on her face was sparkling, perfect.

He disposed of his gloves and washed his hands before gesturing with his head for Sanji to follow him. Law ended up walking past Penguin in the hallway, “Clean up in there, Penguin-ya. I’m off.”

Once he clocked out and they were outside of the hospital, Law asked, “Did you drive here?”

“No, I was dropped off,” Sanji explained.

“Okay, I only live a couple blocks away.” He led the way down the street with Sanji following behind him until they got to his building.

_Oh my god… What the hell am I doing?!_

Law never felt so nervous in his whole life, and he had been in plenty uncomfortable situations before. This was just not something he did—bring some random woman to his apartment to have sex—regardless of how sexy they were.

Truthfully, Law had only been with a couple women back when he was getting his bachelor’s degree and hadn’t been laid in years. But Law was most definitely _NOT_ going to be telling Sanji about that. Especially not when this woman seemed to think the complete opposite. He couldn’t believe that she was actually interested in him in the first place, because this woman was so obviously out of his league it was absolutely insane that she would even _want_ to sleep with him.

Luckily his apartment was on the ground level, so when they got to his building, Law could lead her directly to his place. Unfortunately, his neighbor Bonney was just leaving her place and walking towards them down the hall.

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Why does she have to leave right NOW?!_

“Law! Who’s your friend?” She asked, as obnoxious as always.

“Not now, Bonney-ya.” He couldn’t help but snap at her.

Sanji stayed quiet behind him, Law hadn’t been able to look at her the entire walk here because he didn’t think he’d be able to hold himself back once he saw that lustful sapphire eye of hers again.

Bonney _for once_ , didn’t say anything else and kept walking past them.

Once he got to his door, he fished his keys from his pocket to unlock it. Law swung it open and turned on the light, “Sorry about her, she’s just nosy.”

Law heard the door shut behind him and the deadbolt click. His heart was pounding in his chest, he could feel the atmosphere around them becoming thick and turned to face her.

_Holy shit. She’s really here… The sexy blonde from that new restaurant next to the dojo... Sanji-ya is inside my apartment to have sex with me._

He didn’t give a shit for words at the moment, so he skipped them and kissed her parted lips instead. It had been so long since Law had kissed anyone and Sanji was eager to kiss him back. She was quite a bit shorter than him and Law wanted to _feel_ her against him; since her arms were already wrapped around his neck, it was easy for him to hike her dress up and lift her sexy legs around his body.

Sanji’s fingers tangled in his hair and she pulled him back, breaking the kiss, _“Law, I can’t wait any longer, just fuck me already!”_

With his heart hammering in his chest, the only thing Law was about to do was exactly what this woman told him. He was wearing scrubs, so it was easy to slide them down and free his erection. Sliding her underwear to the side, Law pushed himself inside her and resisted the urge to cum.

_Sweet mother of—FUCK!_

The most delicious moan came from the woman he was currently balls deep inside. They both were still wearing their clothes, albeit they were adjusted accordingly. Once he adjusted to the feeling of having his dick back in a vagina instead if his hand, Law began to move her body up and down.

 _“Aaah~ Law!”_ The sound of his name coming from her lips was one of the sweetest sounds he had ever heard.

He thrust himself hard up into her, _“Shit!”_ Law knew he wasn’t going to last and quickly pulled himself out and set Sanji down on the floor, then put his dick in her face. Without losing a beat, Sanji wrapped her lips around his member and after a few head bobs he was cuming in her mouth, grunting, _“Oh~ FUCK!”_

After licking her lips, Sanji gazed up at him with a sexy grin, _“Tasty~”_

Law took his scrub top off and stepped out of his pants, _“Take that dress off.”_

Sanji stood up and turned her back to him, _“Unzip me~”_

Taking the zipper between his fingers, Law pulled it down the center of her back, just above the curve of her ass. Once the dress was pooled at her feet, Sanji was standing in front of him with a lacey black bra and underwear.

There were absolutely no words that could describe how stunning she was. Law was determined to make the most out of this situation because he probably would never get to sleep with this woman again after tonight. He looked her naked figure up and down, every dip and curve of her body before he met her gaze, _“I’m going to fuck you all night.”_

Her unusual curled eyebrow was raised as she skeptically told him, _“That’s only if you can handle me, sweetheart.”_

Okay, that definitely hurt his ego more than he would like to admit, but Law was going to use that as his drive to prove her wrong. Now that he’d already cum, he would be able to hold out for longer. With a smirk on his face, Law took a step forward and gazed down at the much shorter woman, _“What makes you think I can’t?”_

The look in Sanji’s blue eye was so goddamn sexy, Law felt like she was fucking him with just her gaze. When she reached up and started tracing his tattoo on his chest, she purred, _“I’ve never met a man who could.”_

Law’s smirk grew wider, _“I’m not like other men.”_ He leaned down to whisper into her ear, _“And you are certainly not like other women.”_

 _“Oh, Law,”_ she chuckled softly and whispered into his own ear, _“You have no idea~”_

Fuck, she was driving him crazy. Law felt like he was alive for the first time in years. Sanji was gorgeous and shined brighter than any star in the sky. Her confidence was incredibly alluring, it was sexy to be with a woman who knew what she was doing and knew that she could do it well. Law desperately wanted to see exactly what Sanji was capable of and instructed, _“Show me.”_

For a split-second Law was worried he had made a mistake because Sanji looked a little surprised by his demand. But before he could get too worried about it, a grin broke across her face and Sanji nodded towards the dinner table, _“Take a seat.”_

He took his time walking to the table before he finally pulled a chair out for him to sit in. Law crossed his arms and smirked, she was honestly the sexiest woman he had ever seen. Part of him felt like he must be dreaming, because there was no way any of this could actually be happening; but he knew that he only had nightmares, and in a way that was comforting—it reassured him that this was all real.

Sanji had removed her bra and underwear and was now standing before him in all her naked glory. Her skin was like porcelain, so flawlessly perfect; the woman clearly was in shape, her curves were in all the right places—her breasts were large enough to make any man look twice but not oversized, and her ass was thick, but not overly so. He could hardly believe that a woman so stunning would even give a scary-looking guy like himself the time of day.

When she began to walk towards him, Law could feel his dick twitch. Sanji’s hips swayed from side to side until she was standing right in front of him and squatted between his legs. Without breaking eye-contact, Sanji dipped down between his legs and sucked one of his balls into her mouth.

A low groan came from his throat as he threw his head back and tightly closed his eyes. It was unlike anything he had felt before, and he had no idea what she was doing to him with that mouth of hers, but it was fucking incredible. His dick was actually going soft as if he’d cum again, but he didn’t ejaculate.

_Holy… FUCK! What is she fucking doing to me? This feels insane… I’ve never met a woman who did THAT before…_

Suddenly, her mouth was around his cock, sucking him, causing his blood to rush back down south. Law could feel himself hitting the back of her throat as she bobbed her head over his growing erection. Again, he couldn’t tell what she was actually doing with her mouth, but whatever it was—it felt fucking amazing.

His breathing was getting heavy and rough when Sanji popped him out of her mouth and climbed on top of his lap. With practiced ease, she lowered herself onto his throbbing erection, leaning down to his ear to moan, _“Oh, Law~ I’m going to ride you until you cum.”_

She was tight, wet, and warm, squeezing around him; adding on the face that Sanji made as she began to bounce up and down on his dick—well, it was all too much to handle. But Law desperately did not want to cum so soon—again—so he wrapped his arms around her waist and palmed her ass in an effort to gain back some control, _“Fuck, I don’t want to cum so soon…”_

 _“Mmmm,”_ she slammed herself down onto his dick, _“You haven’t had a good fuck in a while, have you~?”_

Her crass words made Law nearly cum right then and there, Sanji’s voice was so sultry and sinful, she was blowing his mind. Her breasts were bouncing and smacking against her chest, Sanji’s legs were strong and powerful as she’d rise and fall, grinding her hips down against him. The way she was riding him made Law feel like Sanji was desperate to make him orgasm, giving him special treatment and really making sure to show him a good time.

He wanted to say she was wrong, but the truth was Law hadn’t been laid in a long time. But there was something about the way she behaved that convinced him, _“You haven’t either.”_

Sanji groaned, _“You have no idea~”_

It was all too much, Law couldn’t stop himself from cuming inside her as she continued to ride his dick. That was the second time he’d cum, but there was no way he was going to stop now. He held Sanji’s legs around him and stood from the chair, then lay her down on the dinner table.

She looked so incredible, spread-eagled on the table, Law couldn’t help the smirk, _“Yeah, spread your legs for me—just like that…”_

 _“Uuuhh~”_ Law could see his cum leaking from her onto the dark wooden surface, it was by far the hottest thing that’s even been put on his table.

If it wasn’t for the fact he’d just came in her vagina, Law would’ve eaten her out, but he wasn’t really interested in getting his own cum in his mouth. Plus, he really wanted to have that pussy wrapped around him again. He rubbed his hardening cock against her wet lips, _“Seems like you haven’t used this tight pussy of yours in a while…”_

 _“Ahhh~ Law…”_ Sanji gyrated her hips, _“Please~”_

Without further ado, Law buried himself deep inside of her and pinned her hips to the table. He began to thrust his hips, forwards and back, in and out of her. Law was grunting with every roll of his body, every sensation was incredible, he had never felt as blissful than he did pounding into Sanji’s warm body. Leaning forward to kiss her parted lips, Law whispered teasingly into her ear, _“You like getting fucked hard, don’t you?”_

 _“Mmmm, yes~”_ Her voice was hot as sin, _“You can use me for as long as you want.”_

Law growled and wrapped his tattooed fingers around her neck, lightly choking her, _“I fully intend to.”_

 _“Nuuuuhhh~! Uuuh! Uhhh~ Aaaah! Law~ Law~! AHHH! LAW~ FUCK!”_ Sanji was trying to move her hips and thrust against him, but Law kept her held firmly in place, staying completely in-control. There was something incredibly satisfying about having such a sexy woman writhing beneath him. Law slowed down his pace but started thrusting harder and harder into her.

Sanji’s breasts began to bounce from the momentum of Law’s movements and she began using her legs to pull him closer, _“Ohhh~ LAW!”_ Her hands caressed his chest, _“Do I make you feel good?”_

 _“Fuck… YES~”_ He hadn’t felt this good in years, _“This is exactly what I needed.”_

_God, yes… I need to fuck this woman—and I need to make this last for as long as possible—make the most of the situation. Sanji-ya is way too good for me, but I’m not about to pass up this opportunity. Fuck—I haven’t gotten laid in like, five years—there was no way I was going to say ‘no’ to the woman I’ve been fantasizing about for the past three weeks—ever since I saw her singing at that new restaurant. Hell, SHE is the one who came onto me in the first place! I would have to be a complete moron to not realize she was trying to seduce me._

Her mouth was opened as far as it could go as she squeezed her sapphire eye shut and stretched her neck back to scream, _“AHHH~ LAW! SHIT! EHUUUH~ FUCK!!! I’M CUMING!!! LAW~ LAW~ LAW!!!”_

Hearing Sanji screaming his name as he fucked her was a huge boost to Law’s ego. He could feel her walls clenching and squeezing around him. _“Mmmhhhhmmmnh~”_ His eyes twitched shut as he came inside of her a second time.

It was the third time he’d cum, and his balls and cock were feeling extra sensitive. Law pulled his softening member from her dripping, leaking hole and collapsed on the table beside her. Honestly, he had expected for her to try and snuggle up against him, but instead she sat up and leaned down to his dick and started to clean it off with her tongue.

 _“Fuck, Sanji-ya…”_ He was feeling so sensitive that everything she did felt so much more powerful—from the long hard sucks to the gentle flicks of her tongue. It was all so much to take in, so much pleasure to receive all at once. For a man who found little enjoyment out of anything, ever, this was simultaneously the greatest day of his life as well as the most terrifying for this very reason.

When her mouth popped off his new erection, Sanji licked her red lips and grinned, _“Your cock tastes good when I’ve been all over it.”_ She sucked one of his testicles into her mouth and Law probably would’ve came again if he had anything left.

Law had never been with a woman who was such a fucking pervert. It was not only unexpected but incredibly hot and attractive. The fact she was slobbering all over his dick made it all the better, so he suggested, _“How about you get on it again, hmm?”_

He was pleased that she didn’t get angry at him for asking for another round, Sanji actually seemed rather satisfied by his idea. Her mouth was no longer on his dick, but instead smiling at him as she slowly climbed onto his body and lowered her hips down to his dick.

 _“Aaaaahhh~”_ She let out a sweet, sultry, sigh of relief before she started to grind herself up and down, _“You like when I squeeze and ride your dick, don’t you Law?”_

His eyes rolled to the back of his head and his hands searched for her perfect, plump ass. When he had each cheek in his palms, Law spread them apart and began to match her movements and meet her lowering hips with an upward thrust, _“FUCK~ YES!”_

 _“Hhhhhhuuuuuh~”_ It sounded like all the air in Sanji’s lungs were forced out and then she gasped and inhaled a breath of air. As Law continued to match her rhythm, Sanji held onto his shoulders for support which gave him the perfect view of her facial expressions and her bouncing breasts.

_This woman must have A LOT of pent-up sexual frustration… Not like I fucking don’t, but Sanji-ya is either REALLY into me, or she is a total slut. And out of those two options the far more likely scenario is that she’s a slut and will sleep with any guy who catches her eye. How the hell I meet her standards, I will probably never fucking know… But I don’t want her to be like this for anyone else. I want her to myself, if she can make me feel THIS goddamn relaxed there is no way I’m sharing._

Law could feel the fluids leaking from Sanji onto his dick trailing down his own ass as they continued to move in-sync with one another. It was so much more than just hot, crazy sex; Sanji was like a drug that he was slowly becoming addicted to. She seemed to fit perfectly against him, and maybe it was just because it had been such a long time since he’d been with a woman, but Law didn’t remember pussy feeling so good.

Every muscle in his body was burning, Law wasn’t used to moving like he was. But it was all worth it to have Sanji tightly gripping his shoulders, her insides quaking and quivering from his cock, and the moans and screams of his name coming from her lips.

He began to pull her hips down against him as he thrusted into her, _“FUCK! LAW! LAW! OHHH~ GOD, LAW~!”_

 _“Yeah~ that’s right! Let the whole building know how much you enjoy getting pounded by my cock, Sanji-ya~”_ It was better than any drug he could take, better than any high, to hear Sanji screaming his name in pleasure.

Her legs began to shake and Sanji squeezed him tighter, _“LAW~ FUCK!!! AAAAAAHHHH~! SHIT! LAW! LAW! LAW! LAW! LAW!”_

 _“Shit Sanji-ya~”_ He smirked at her enthusiasm, _“You keep singing for me like that.”_

 _“UUUUHH~ LAW! FUCK!”_ Sanji was gasping for air, she was cuming all over his throbbing erection. Honestly, Law couldn’t believe he was still able to fuck her like this after already cuming three times. He figured it was a combination of five years of celibacy and how incredibly alluring she was that allowed him to last this long.

 _“You just keep cuming all over my dick,”_ Law thrust himself deep inside of her, _“I’ll fuck you real nice and hard.”_

 _“Mmmmmmm~”_ Sanji wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held on for what was to come.

Law started plunging himself as far into Sanji as he could, holding onto her ass cheeks to control her hips. He wanted to feel everything inside her as she came apart around him, _“Fuck~ you are such a slut, aren’t you? Didn’t even wait for me to say something~ you were just so eager to have my cock deep inside you. Tell me, Sanji-ya, do you always~ sleep with men you’ve just met?”_

She whimpered into his ear, _“Not always~”_

 _“Hmmm, so you mean to tell me that I’m not the first man you’ve done this with?”_ He thrust himself deep inside her and held her hips down firmly, so she couldn’t pull away.

 _“Aahhh~ no… You’re not the first…”_ Sanji squirmed on his dick, _“Law… Please~”_

He shifted his hips, so she could feel him inside her, _“You want me to keep fucking you, don’t you slut?”_

Law spanked her hard on her ass and made her gasp, _“YES! FUCK~ YES, LAW! YES!!!”_

 _“Well, why didn’t you just say so~?”_ He couldn’t help but tease her before pulling himself out and thrusting back into her, starting a brutal rhythm that he was probably only capable of because of the rush of adrenaline due to the incredible sex.

Sanji could barely hold herself up, her legs were shaking around him and the sounds she was making were complete nonsense. Even if it was nonsense, it was the fuel for Law’s engine—every strangled moan added to his fire and kept him going until he, too could take no more.

He could feel himself getting close, although he was shocked he was going to cum again. He lifted her off his dick and tossed her onto the table, then straddled her and began to jerk himself off. Law’s breathing was ragged as he ejaculated onto Sanji’s chest, he was almost expecting her to start sucking his dick again after last time, but she did not.

She seemed to be as exhausted as he was and looked like a complete mess—albeit a _HOT_ mess. As Sanji lay on the table, trying to catch her breath, Law stared down at her cum-covered body and for the first time since they’d arrived at his place, Law actually thought about what he had just done.

_Holy shit! What the fuck was I thinking?! I didn’t use a condom… Is Sanji even on birth control? What if she gets pregnant?! Shit! Shit-shit-shit! I wasn’t fucking thinking! This is a complete disaster… I shouldn’t have done this._

Law felt her hand tracing his tattoo on his chest and her soft voice broke through his thoughts, “Could I use your shower?”

“Yeah, sure,” Law climbed off her on the table and showed her to the bathroom, starting the shower for her, “You can use whatever’s in here…”

Sanji raised her curly eyebrow at him, “What? You don’t want to join me?”

_Do I want to take a shower with her? Well, I don’t really see any reason NOT to…_

“Fine, I will,” Law rolled his eyes, “Only because I need one too.”

She didn’t seem the least bit upset as he stepped into the hot shower. With a grin on her face, Sanji began to run her hands all over his body, “Why’re you so grumpy?”

Surprisingly, her touch was rather calming to Law, he sighed, “I had a long shift.”

“Yeah, I’ve been there,” Sanji hugged him around his waist, “I didn’t have the best day at work either,” she held up her stitched hand.

“What’s your job?” Law really wanted to know.

She smiled with pride, “My job is to feed people—I’m the head chef at my restaurant, _All Blue.”_

“Wait, _your_ restaurant?” As he washed his dick, Law was mulling over what he just learned.

“Yeah, I’m the owner,” she gave him a suspicious look, “Why do you sound so surprised?”

_Because that has become the most popular place in town, and it only opened a couple months ago… Plus she isn’t even twenty-five years old! How the hell did she manage all of that?!_

After he rinsed the shampoo from his hair, Law switched places with Sanji, “How old are you again?”

She let her hair down which fell past her shoulders and let the stream of water rush over her face, uncovering her other eye, “I’m twenty-four.” Law stayed quiet, too entranced by the younger woman’s beauty. Sanji used his face wash to remove her makeup and _goddamn—_ that woman was truely stunning, “How old are you, Law?”

“Fucking thirty,” he bitterly admitted, Law felt old.

Sanji bit her lip, “Well, at least we did this now and not, say~ ten years ago when I was fourteen and you were twenty.”

That actually made him chuckle slightly, “Well when you put it _that_ way…” He leaned forward and kissed her perfect lips.

When they broke apart a moment later, Sanji whispered, “Since we are living in the now~ we should fuck.”

Law really did like the sound of that, so he reached around Sanji to turn the water off, “Turn around.”

Sanji turned her back to him, Law pushed on the center of her spine, so she would bend over and stick her ass out. It was ridiculous how hard he was able to get, even after his four orgasms, there was something about Sanji that drew him in. Law rubbed his head against her clit, “So I assume you’re on birth control?”

She grunted, “Obviously.” Sanji’s wet folds were quivering against his dick as she held onto her ankles with her head between her legs.

He smirked at the beautiful display of her ass, “I should’ve asked sooner, but…” Law slapped her ass and rubbed her plump cheek, “I was distracted.”

Her pussy was slick and wet with arousal, Law couldn’t stop himself from plunging right in. Sanji’s walls clenched around him and she gasped, _“Oh, yeah~!”_

 _“Fuck, yeah~”_ Law groaned as he held his dick inside her. Before pulling out and starting a rhythm, he slapped her ass again, _“Don’t fall.”_

Law grabbed her hips and began to rock their bodies back and forth, Sanji was moaning and garbling her words, _“Aaaah~ Law! Fuck! Aaaahhh~ Mmmm~ Uuuhh~ Shit! LAW!”_

All of it was music to his ears, having such an insanely attractive woman crying out his name as he fucked her. Law forgot all about the possible consequences to his actions, Sanji was on birth control, so he wouldn’t be getting her pregnant, and she was smart enough to know how to prevent STDs, so he assumed she must be clean if she didn’t tell him to use a condom. Being in the medical field, Law has always made sure to take precautions when engaging in sexual intercourse, but with Sanji, everything had been thrown out the window. He had been too caught-up in the moment to even remember to ask about her sexual history, but something told him that he probably didn’t want to know.

_Fuck… Sanji is such a goddamn slut! I’ve never met a woman who was so straightforward and just says whatever is on their mind. It’s so fucking sexy… The girls I fucked in college were nothing like this, they were inexperienced and boring. Sanji knows exactly what she’s doing, how to make me feel amazing, and she is fucking WILD._

_“LAW! LAW! LAW!!! FUCK~!”_ She was pushing her ass against him as he slammed into her from behind. It was a good thing Law had turned the water off, not only was it a terrible lubricant, but he really didn’t want them to lose their balance and fall in the shower.

He groaned loudly as he came for the fifth time, _“SHIT!”_ Their bodies stilled as Law held her hips firmly against his while he shot his load inside her.

 _“UUUUUHHH~ YOU FEEL SO GOOD INSIDE ME!”_ Sanji arched her back and tightened her walls around him.

 _“Mmmmm~ FUCK!”_ Law pulled himself out and turned the shower back on, blasting them with cold water.

Sanji yelled, “AHH! WHAT THE FUCK?!”

The cold water cleared his head and helped him think straight, “I think we should talk about this.”

She was scowling at him, “What’s there to talk about? This is a night of sex between two strangers who both desperately needed it.”

Her icy tone of voice was startling, but Law didn’t let it show, it was pretty obvious Sanji didn’t want to talk about this, but he felt like he had to. “Well, why does it have to be just for tonight?”

That seemed to upset her even more, “That’s not really my thing.”

Law kept his expression calm, but Sanji was getting under his skin, “Yeah, you just like hooking-up with strangers so you don’t grow attached and catch feelings, right?”

Sanji’s sapphire eyes were burning into his pale ones, there was fury and shock hidden within, “Fuck you.”

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Law wasn’t going to back down when he so clearly hit the nail on the head.

She huffed, “Yeah, and so what if you are? It doesn’t matter, and it doesn’t change the fact that I’m not really the type of woman who gets brought home to meet mom and dad.”

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes, “Trust me, you’ll never meet my mom and dad, okay?” Not like she could, they both had been dead for over two decades.

“Okay,” she snapped at him, “Still doesn’t mean I want to do this longer than for tonight.”

Law smirked at her, “Why not? Don’t you find me attractive?”

Her cheeks turned pink, “Me finding you attractive enough to sleep with doesn’t mean shit.”

“You liked it though, having me fuck you nice and hard, getting used by me as well as using me,” Law was getting hard again, the cold water wasn’t doing shit.

Sanji’s breathing was becoming heavier, “And?”

“HA!” Law scoffed, “And I bet you haven’t found anyone else in town, that’s why you’re so horny.”

Closing her eyes, Sanji took a deep breath, “Okay~ yeah, you’re the first guy I’ve met in this town who manages to meet my standards… Raftel is _seriously_ lacking in deliciously sexy, ripped men.”

_‘Deliciously sexy, ripped men…’ I wouldn’t exactly say I am RIPPED… I’m toned, but I don’t really want to go overboard and look huge like—oh shit, Zoro. I bet Sanji would go absolutely nuts for a guy like him. This is bad. REALLY bad. I know Zoro isn’t the kind of guy to care about relationships or anything other than training and working out… But if they ever met, Sanji would be all over him. FUCK! I know that Zoro needs to get laid, probably more than anybody—I mean, Zoro LIVES to get stronger, he doesn’t do anything besides work—but that doesn’t mean he is better for her than me. If they don’t even know each other, there is nothing to worry about._

“I’m right here, Sanji-ya~” He drawled, _“Should I remind you what it feels like to get fucked by my cock?”_

She couldn’t hide the shake in her legs, there was a light blush across her cheeks and Law could tell she was aroused.

Once again, Law turned off the shower, this time he stepped out and tugged on Sanji’s wrist to follow. He bent her over the bathroom counter and nuzzled his erection against her behind, _“Should I fuck you here, like this, nice and hard?”_

 _“Nuuuuh~ fuck…”_ Sanji’s voice trailed off as Law was rubbing against her clit.

He clenched his jaw and furrowed his eyebrows, Law could see Sanji’s scrunched-up face in the mirror and watched as her mouth and eyes opened in shock when the palm of his hand connected with her ass. _“You want me to fuck you like this,”_ he spanked her again and felt her cunt begin to leak fluids onto his dick, _“You like acting like a slut, so how about I treat you like one?”_

 _“FUCK~ YESSS~!”_ Sanji’s words came out as long, strangled moans; the two sweetest words of the English language—of _ANY_ language.

Law teased her opening with the tip of his dick before snapping his hips forward and groaning in delight, _“Your pussy accepts me so easily~”_

 _“Uuuuhhh~”_ Sanji’s suddenly clamped around his member and squeezed him.

As slowly pulled himself out, it felt like the most incredible thing he ever had, _“Fuck~ you know just how to drive a man crazy.”_

 _“Mmmmm, Law~”_ This woman was a goddamned enchantress, she was oozing sex appeal at all times, effortlessly.

 _“You don’t really~ want this to be the last time you feel my dick, do you?”_ Law thrust himself back inside her and slapped her ass.

 _“Aaahh~! Fuck~!”_ Sanji threw her head back and closed her eyes tight.

Law pulled on her hair and growled into her ear, _“You like this~ You like pleasuring me… Why wouldn’t you want to do this again?”_

Sanji moaned loudly, _“LAWWW~! UUUUHHHH~! FUCK! FINE!”_

 _“What’s ‘fine,’ exactly?”_ He licked the outer edge of her ear and watched her shiver.

She squeezed her muscles around him and lewdly moaned, _“FOR US TO FUCK AGAIN!”_

 _“Hmmm, like right now? Or…?”_ Law softly rocked himself back and forth inside her, but only enough to tease, not enough to pleasure.

 _“MMMMMMHHH~ LAW!!!”_ Teasing her caused a marvelous reaction, _“NOT JUST~ RIGHT NOW—ANOTHER TIME!”_

Law sighed, delighted, _“That’s right~ one night isn’t enough time with my cock for you~ is it?”_

 _“NOOO~ I WANT MORE!”_ Sanji was wreathing on his dick, desperately searching for friction.

He chuckled at her feeble attempt, _“You, needy slut.”_ Law spanked her and slammed himself inside her. His rhythm was relentless, he used every bit of energy that was stored in his body to fuck Sanji to submission. _“You need someone like me to keep you sated,”_ he slapped her ass again growled into her ear, _“You won’t find anyone else in this town who can do it.”_

 _“Fuck~!”_ Sanji gasped for air and he could feel her legs shaking against him as she came, _“AHHHHH~! LAW! LAW! LAW! LAW! LAAAWW~!”_

His tattooed fingers combed through her damp hair to grip it at the scalp, once Law had a firm hold, he tugged on her hair until her back was against his chest. He was still inside of her; his throbbing erection was thrust deep and she was leaking her cum all over the place. Law nibbled at her ear and whispered, _“Yeah~ scream my name, just like that~”_

 _“OHH~ LAW~!”_ Sanji mewled.

Law let go of her hair and instead wrapped his hand around her throat while his other hand snaked around to her clit, _“Look at yourself, cuming all over my cock.”_ His fingers toyed with her clit and Law felt her squeeze him tighter, _“You won’t be satisfied if it were only for tonight~ your pussy can’t get enough of my cock. That’s why we’re still going at it even after a cold shower.”_

She gasped then moaned as he rubbed her clit with his fingers, Law thrust himself up into her and began to feel another orgasm building up. He tightened his grip around her throat and Sanji stared back at him wide-eyed in the mirror, as if to say it was too much.

He loosened his grip and whispered in her ear, never looking away from her sapphire eyes in the mirror, _“You’ve got such a greedy pussy~ No wonder other men couldn’t handle you.”_

 _“UUUHH~ LAW!!!”_ She threw her head back against his shoulder with her eyes squeezed shut.

Sanji was sucking him up like a vacuum, her pussy was truly something else, _“Sanji-ya, do you want my cum in your pussy or mouth?”_

She opened her mouth and seductively flicked her tongue around, _“I want it in my mouth~”_

 _“This chef has a dirty mouth I see~”_ Law smirked as he lifted her from his dick and she kneeled in front of him. He rubbed himself on her face before sticking it into her open mouth, _“Fuck~ you really know how to use it too~”_

Every time her mouth was on him, Law was blown away. Sanji moaned and slurped on his dick, made it look and sound like there was nothing she would rather be doing. Everything she did felt perfect and amazing, she treated his dick like mindless peasants do royalty—worship like a god.

 _“Ohh~ Sanji-ya… That feels—Fuck!”_ Law gripped her hair and thrust himself into the back of her throat, causing her to gag on his dick, _“Aaaahh~ aaaah~ aaaahhh~ shit~!”_ He came in her mouth and then pulled himself out.

Sanji was coughing and gasping for air, once she finally caught her breath, she asked him, “Mind if I use the shower again? Alone, perhaps?”

Law cocked his eyebrow and studied her, “Sure, I’ll use the other bathroom.”

As he walked down the hall and to the other shower, Law couldn’t help but smile to himself. The night had been the greatest of his life, he never felt so attracted to another person and to have them find him attractive in return was unbelievably satisfying.

He took his time showering, wanting to clean all the cum from his crotch and legs. Law figured he couldn’t have taken more than ten minutes for him to finish and wander back out to find Sanji.

However, she was no longer in his apartment and her clothes weren’t laying on the floor in his entryway. Law was experiencing a mixture of emotions, from anger to sadness, frustration and sorrow, the only thing that reassured him that it really happened was a note she left on the dinner table.

 _‘Law,_  
Thank you for tonight, I really needed it.  
I look forward to next time. Text me,  
Sanji’

Underneath her name was a phone number, the elegant cursive handwriting suited her quite well. Law was disappointed that she left, but ultimately was relieved she left the note for him—it was the smallest gesture, but it proved to him that there really was something special about her.

Days went by before Law saw her again, but when he did, Sanji did not disappoint. She was still as stunning as the first night they spent together, and the sex was just as good, if not better. They would occasionally text each other, usually just about what they wanted to do to each other when they were together again.

After about a month of getting together to hook up, Law was getting dressed after another night of crazy sex when Sanji asked, “So what exactly are we?”

He glanced at her with a blank expression, “What do you mean?”

Sanji was laying on her bed and sighed, “Neither of us are sleeping with anyone else, so…”

Law rolled his eyes, “We’re together.”

“Okay~ well that’s all I wanted to know,” she snapped at him.

He raised his eyebrow, “What’s _your_ problem?”

She let out a deep breath before mentioning, “Why don’t we ever _do_ anything?”

Scoffing, Law reminded her, “Every time we see each other we end up having sex, Sanji-ya. We can’t exactly do that in-public and neither of us has a lot of free-time.”

There was a deep frown on her face, Law didn’t really like seeing her look so upset, but there wasn’t anything he could do to change that. Sanji sighed and nodded her head, “Yeah, you’re right.”

The next day, Law went to _All Blue_ with Shachi and Penguin, “So, Law, how’re things going with Sanji?”

The question caught Shachi’s interest, “Yeah, Law. You don’t seem to hate everything quite as much, not since you two hooked-up.”

Law didn’t usually talk about his and Sanji’s relationship, and these two were always so nosey about his life, so it made sense they wanted to know. With an exasperated sigh, Law confessed, “We are together, the sex is insane, she’s…”

As he searched for the words to say, Penguin finished his sentence, “Indescribable.”

He chuckled, but nodded his head, “Yeah.”

“Law? What’re you doing here?” He could recognize that voice anywhere.

When he turned in his seat, their previous topic of discussion was sexily smiling at him. Sanji was stunning, wearing a gold satin dress and looking like an empress. Law gulped, “We were all free for lunch today and decided to come here.”

Both Shachi and Penguin’s mouths were open as they stared at her, their eyes practically popping out of their skulls. Then she turned to them with a sweet smile, “Would one of you be a doll and take a picture of us?”

Sanji pulled him up out of his chair before he could even protest, Shachi had pulled his phone out and held it up to take their picture. Law tossed his arm over her shoulder and smirked, it was a little strange being out in public with her. Mostly because the only thing he could think about was fucking her in the dress she was currently wearing.

“Would you send that to Law and remind him to send it to me?” Sanji was smart enough to know not to give her phone number to Shachi, that or she really didn’t want him to have it. The guy couldn’t even answer her with words, only nodded at her as if he would listen to her every word.

A small part of Law felt bad for his friends, that they were too entranced by Sanji to even hold a conversation. The rest of him felt cocky as hell, because not only could he talk to her like a normal person, but he got to have sex with her. Over the past month, Law’s self-esteem had substantially increased, although, he still hated himself and felt like the only reason he deserved to be alive was because he saved other people’s lives as a surgeon.

After having lunch with Shachi and Penguin, Law had a training session at the dojo. When he walked inside, he found Zoro waiting for him in the training room, “You’re late.”

Law sighed in annoyance, “Only by two minutes.”

Zoro stared at him curiously, “You’ve been in a good mood.”

As he stretched, Law smirked, “Have I?”

“Yes, you have.” Zoro tilted his head in wonder, “Is there a reason?”

_Shit! Shit! SHIT! I don’t want Zoro-ya and Sanji-ya knowing about each other… If Sanji-ya met Zoro-ya, she would probably want to start sleeping with him! Even though Zoro-ya doesn’t seem interested in relationships, I doubt he’d be able to resist Sanji-ya… FUCK! What the hell should I do?_

With a plan in mind, Law grinned, “Well, since you asked, I’ll tell you.” He needed to know how big of a potential threat Zoro really was to him, “I met this chick a while ago, she came into the ER and I gave her stitches for a cut.”

Zoro shrugged, “So what?”

“So~ she is the sexiest piece of ass I’ve ever seen,” Law raised his eyebrows suggestively and bit his lower lip, “I invited her back to my place.”

“You’re kidding. That doesn’t sound like you… There’s no way.” Zoro seemed more skeptical about Law actually bringing a woman to his place than he seemed interested in who the woman was.

Law chuckled, “That’s what I thought at first, but she came back to my place with me after my shift.”

Zoro gave him a blank stare and guessed, “So you got laid?”

He scoffed, “Oh~ yeah~ I got laid—I’m telling you, this chick is a total slut in bed.”

“Oh,” Zoro seemed uninterested, “Well, good for you.” He picked up some wooden swords and tossed one to Law, “Don’t let it distract you.”

_This is great. He could care less, he doesn’t flinch at the mention of a gorgeous woman, and certainly didn’t care if she was good in bed. He must be into guys or something… but honestly, I think Zoro-ya just isn’t interested in that stuff. Lucky me._

As time went on things between them stayed very much the same, Law and Sanji would see each other every few days to have sex and occasionally visit each other at work for lunch or coffee.   

About six months after they met, Law had woken up from a nightmare and couldn’t fall back asleep. It had been a long time since he had a nightmare, and usually they were memories of his fucked-up childhood. This nightmare had been about Sanji, more specifically, she and Zoro were going at it.

_Fuck! What the hell kind of a nightmare was that?! Sanji-ya and Zoro-ya still don’t know each other. Am I seriously THIS paranoid about it that I’m going to start having nightmares now?! Sanji-ya and I are the ones having sex—not her and Zoro-ya! We’ve been having sex for six months!_

Law got up out of bed and decided to take a walk, he left his apartment with his wallet, phone, and keys. Unfortunately, Bonney was also leaving her place, right across the hall, “Oh, hey Law. Where you headed?”

He rolled his eyes but found himself answering her question anyway, “For a walk.”

Bonney raised her eyebrow, “Everything okay?”

“I’m fine,” he really didn’t want to be around _her_ of all people.

Of course, she _couldn’t_ let it go, “You look like you’re upset about something.”

“Yeah, I’m upset you keep talking to me,” Law _really_ couldn’t deal with her right now.

She began to pout, “Come on~ Law~ I know that’s not the _real_ reason.”

He was going to attempt ripping it off like a band aid, “I had a nightmare about Sanji-ya being with someone else.”

That piqued her interest, Bonney widened her eyes, “You haven’t had any nightmares since you two met.”

Law glared at her, it was just like her to point out something like that—something he hadn’t even realized himself.

“What’s so great about her anyway?” The way she said it wasn’t jealous or snobby, but genuinely curious.

They were now walking out their building together, Law simply went wherever she began to lead him, “Sanji-ya? She’s fucking sexy and you wouldn’t believe how crazy the sex is.”

Bonney lightly shook her head, “Trust me, _I know._ I can _hear_ it.” She sighed and looked him in the eye, “Don’t you two ever do anything else?”

He shrugged, “We don’t have time for anything else.”

She rolled her eyes, “If you say so~”

It was three in the morning, apparently Bonney was getting a snack at the twenty-four-hour gas station down the street. Law ended up getting a coffee, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep anyways. On the walk back to their building, Law made the comment, “I can’t believe you can eat like that and not gain weight.”

This wasn’t the first time Law had seen Bonney eat, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. He rarely saw her without something to munch on and a better word to describe it was devour. Bonney thankfully swallowed the mouthful of chips in her mouth before saying, “I’ve got a fast metabolism, plus I work-out.”

Law was a little skeptical about her working-out but decided not to comment on it and took a sip of his coffee. He hated how easily Bonney was able to break him down and get him to talk to her. It was irritating that she would always try and talk to him whenever they saw each other, Law hated talking to people. But it was different with Bonney, Law could talk to her about anything—she was the only person who knew what his nightmares were about.

_This always happens whenever I’m around her… Bonney-ya always gets me to tell her what she wants to know. That nosey neighbor…ahhh, shit. When did we actually start becoming…friends?_

“Hey, Law,” she interrupted his thoughts, “If you aren’t going to sleep, you should visit Sanji.”

He looked at her curiously, “Why?”

Bonney’s forehead ticked, “Just go.”

Normally, Law didn’t like to listen to Bonney, but she seemed pissed off about _something._ He didn’t want to take any chances or ask more questions, all he did was turn around and walk towards Sanji’s apartment.

Since he had a key, he let himself inside and locked the door behind him. On the table in the entry-way was the picture Shachi had taken of them. Law threw away his coffee cup in the kitchen before he tip-toed into Sanji’s bedroom. Once he started to study her sleeping figure, it didn’t take long for Law to get an erection.

That was when Law realized how insane he was—he broke into her place and got a boner from watching her sleep! But right as he was turning around to leave, Sanji woke up, “Law? Is that you?” Her voice was filled with sleepiness and it managed to make Law’s situation even worse. His erection was tenting his pajama pants and his side was on display, giving Sanji a perfect angle.

“Uhh~” He cleared his throat and turned to face her bed, “Yeah, it’s me.”

Sanji stretched her arms out and rubbed her eyes, “What’re you doing here at…” When she turned to her alarm clock, her eyes widened in horror, _“At three-fifty-seven in the morning?”_

There was a moment of silence before Law decided to answer, “I had a nightmare.”

“Oh,” Sanji got out of bed and walked over to him, “Need a distraction, I see~” Her hands were roaming across his body, gently caressing and soothing him. Oddly enough, this was exactly what he needed—Sanji’s attention completely on _HIM._

He gripped the back of her head and gave her a fierce kiss, moaning into her mouth and sucking on her lower lip. Law reached around to her ass and squeezed, _“Yes, please.”_

She moaned against his lips, _“Mmmm Law~”_

 _“Get on your knees,”_ he instructed.

Sanji was kneeling in front of him with her mouth wide open, waiting for him as he pulled down his pajama bottoms. When his erection was free, Law slapped it over her tongue before thrusting himself into her throat. He loved hearing her gag on his dick, one of the many wonderful things about being with Sanji was she let him fuck her mouth as rough as her pussy.

Before he came, he pulled himself from her mouth, _“Turn around.”_ Of course, she did as she was told, like always. Law yanked her shorts down and stuck two fingers into her, _“Fuck~ already so wet… You want my cock, don’t you slut?”_

 _“Uuuuhhh~ yessss~ Law~”_ Sanji moved herself on his fingers, wanting to be touched.

This was what made Sanji so special—she was a perfect little play-thing, just for Law. He realized that she wasn’t the type of woman to settle-down, but he managed to keep her all to himself. He was the only person who saw this side of her anymore—not those other guys she’s been with and certainly not Zoro. The nightmare he had wasn’t real, this was, _“You are such a greedy little slut. Fucking yourself with my fingers…”_

 _“Mmmm Law~ please…”_ She was so needy and desperate for attention—attention only Law gave her.

He removed his fingers from her slippery entrance, lined up his cock instead, and snapped his hips forward, _“Mmm~ Fuck~!”_

 _“OHHH~ LAW!!”_ Sanji backed her ass up against him and clenched around his member.

Law groaned as he pulled himself out and slammed back in, grunting, _“Fuck~ you’re such a needy little slut, aren’t you?!”_

 _“Ahhh~ Fuck! Law~ yes, yes, oh GOD~ yes!”_ Sanji always turned into a mess when he started to fuck her hard like this.

 _“Hmmm, that’s right~ you like it when I fuck you rough and hard.”_ Law’s hand connected with her ass cheek, sounding a loud crack through the room.

Sanji gasped for air before crying out, _“AAAH! FUCK~ YES!”_

 _“Louder, slut.”_ Law spanked her several times in a row, all to the same spot and each one harder than the last.

It made Sanji cum on his dick and scream, _“AAAHH! LAW! LAW! LAW! LAW! LAW! FUCK! AAAAAAHHH~! FUCK~! LAWWW~!”_

Law grabbed her waist and slammed into her a couple more times before he, too was cuming, _“MMMM SHIT~”_

After having sex with Sanji, the nightmare was no longer gnawing at his ego. Law had been reminded of the fact he was the one who fucked her like this. He felt much more calm and relaxed, he almost felt like he could fall back asleep if it wasn’t for the coffee he drank.

Sanji picked up on his change in mood and offered, “If you ever have a nightmare again, just call me and I’ll come over.”

His heartbeat quickened, Law wasn’t expecting her to do that, “Are you sure?”

She smiled at him and took his breath away, “Yeah. And if you ever want to talk about them, I’m here.”

He quickly shook his head to dismiss the idea, “It’s fine, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay,” she sighed with a tight smile, “Well, I’m going back to bed, you can join me if you want.”

Law was surprised Sanji told him he could stay, she never did that, “No, I had coffee on the way here.”

Nodding her head, Sanji yawned, “Alright, see you later.”

She looked so cute when sleepy, Law smirked at her as she snuggled under the blankets, then whispered, “Sweet dreams.”

On the one-year anniversary of the day they first hooked-up, Sanji had surprised him with a sexy outfit. She sauntered over to him on the bed from the master bathroom wearing a lace, navy-blue corset and white stockings.

_Holy shit! I can see-through that thing! FUCK~ that’s hot!_

Sanji stood in front of him and lifted her leg up to his shoulder, showing Law she had no underwear on, _“What do you think?”_

He tipped his head to the side and smirked, _“I think you look sexy.”_

She grinned at him and put her leg down, _“Of course~ you think that~”_ Sanji pushed him so his back fell to the mattress, _“Take your cock out and I’ll ride you.”_

Law gulped, then promptly removed his briefs so he was laying naked on the bed.

Sanji climbed on top of him, then lowered herself onto his erection, _“Ohh~ Law~”_

The tops of her breasts were spilling from the corset, and Law could see her hard, pink nipples trying to poke through the thin lace. He ran his tattooed fingers across the navy fabric, it hugged Sanji’s perfect figure and looked incredible on her.

When she slid herself down onto him, Law groaned, _“Fuck~ did you get that just for me~?”_

Her walls tightened around him as Sanji moaned, _“Mmmm… Yesss~”_

A low growl came from his throat and Law squeezed her plump ass in his hands, _“HMMPH~ You’re such a goddamn SLUT!”_ He felt Sanji’s cum running down his cock and thrust himself up to get her attention, _“I thought you said you were going to ride me~”_

She inhaled a sharp breath of air, then let out a lewd moan and began to ride his dick like a porn star. Sanji’s breasts were jiggling as they spilled out of her corset, bouncing as she moved up and down. _“Mmmm Law~”_

 _“That’s right,”_ Law groaned in pleasure, _“Ride my cock, slut.”_

Sanji was always so eager to do as he said, Law liked that about her. Over the past year, he had learned quite a lot about Sanji, most of them had to do with their sex life, but there were other things he knew about her, too. For example, he knew that she liked to sing since she was a kid, had attended college for culinary arts, and enjoyed smoking cigarettes.

As she rode his cock, Law was thinking about all the little things Sanji did that drove him crazy. The sounds she would make as he fucked her, the way it felt as she clenched around his dick, the smell of spices and tobacco in her blonde hair. Law had memorized the dips and curves of her body, all the places that she was sensitive were now almost too easy to find.

Their relationship wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t messy though, and it certainly wasn’t complex. They spent the little spare time they had together, and whenever they were together they ended up having sex. Sometimes they would talk about work or what they were up to, or other mundane things, but it never lasted long or got too personal.

Over the next year, things between them stayed the same, but Sanji started to change.

Sanji stopped working weekends in an effort to spend more time with him, but Law was getting even busier at the hospital. His nightmares became more frequent and felt more and more real. They began to argue, Sanji would complain that they never did anything, and Law kept getting frustrated that she was wanting more when he already spent most of his free-time with her. What little amount of time Law didn’t spend at the hospital or with Sanji was usually for sleep.

They had been together for a little over two years, the sex had only gotten better, but everything else kept getting worse. If it wasn’t for the crazy sex, Law probably would’ve gotten bored and stopped seeing her, but their relationship was always about sex. It didn’t matter much to him that Sanji was bitchy and annoying when they talked—she was still amazing to have sex with and insanely hot.

He had awoken one evening from a nightmare and sent Sanji a text to come over. Law had fallen asleep on the couch with the tv on, after turning it off with the remote, he stood up and stretched. It had become his routine to get together with Sanji after a nightmare about her and Zoro. Part of him felt a little pathetic—that he needed to screw her to make up for the fucked-up things his unconscious mind came up with—but it’s what made him feel okay about himself again.

When Sanji didn’t reply to his text within an hour, Law started to freak out. The nightmares always made him feel uneasy, but this made him very anxious. It wasn’t nighttime yet, but Sanji should’ve gotten done with work hours ago. Law considered calling her, but ultimately decided against it—if she wasn’t replying to a text, she wasn’t going to answer a phone call.

Since Sanji wasn’t any help, Law decided to go for a walk. After grabbing his keys and wallet, Law opened the door to his apartment and literally ran into his pink-haired neighbor. Their bodies collided with each other and Bonney lost her balance. Luckily, Law was able to catch her before she fell. However, this put them in a compromising situation, because Law was able to feel her large breasts against his chest and her hair smelled sweet, like candy.

Law’s mind was racing, he was filled with conflicting thoughts and emotions. He had known Bonney for years and although he couldn’t stand her at first, she slowly had grown on him. She had made an effort to befriend and get to know him, because of it she was the person that knew him best. Law never realized how close he had become with Bonney until that moment, holding her tightly in his arms.

His chest felt warm, his heart was pounding, his stomach was light and fluttery. Law had lived across from Bonney for a few years, she would always talk to him when they saw each other, but this was the first time they _collided_ with each other.

When he checked to make sure she was okay, Bonney was staring up at him with her eyes wide, “Law?”

He became mesmerized, “Your eyes,” Law brought a tattooed hand up to her face and tucked a pink strand of hair behind her ear, “I never noticed they’re purple.”

She blinked up at him and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Law furrowed his eyebrows, “I had a nightmare, Sanji-ya isn’t answering.”

Bonney hadn’t made any effort to move away from him, and Law didn’t want her to, but after processing what he had said, she gently pushed him away, “I’m not going to sleep with you just because Sanji isn’t around.”

With reluctance, Law let Bonney go. He felt like a piece of shit, “That’s not what I was suggesting.”

She rolled her eyes and scoffed, “Come on, I could see it in your eyes that’s what you were thinking.”

“So, what?” He snapped, “She’s probably out there fucking somebody else! Why can’t I?!”

Bonney glared at him, “So you want to stick it to her?”

“No!” Law huffed in annoyance, “I just want to be with _you.”_

All the color left her face, “What?”

Law took a deep breath and repeated himself, “I want to be with you, Bonney.”

The pink-haired woman stood frozen in front of him, looking as if she had been told a loved-one had died—Law would know, he had to give that kind of news to people for his job. But there was something about seeing Bonney like that—seeming almost broken beyond repair—that made him actually feel sick to his stomach.

_Fuck! What the fuck?! What am I doing? What am I saying? I’ve been with Sanji for over two years—been paranoid about HER getting with someone else and now I feel like I could care less about it—all because of Bonney-ya. And Sanji… How many times has she asked me if there was something going on between Bonney-ya and I?_

“Law,” Bonney’s soft voice pulled him from his thoughts. He recognized the look of fear in her eyes, “What about Sanji?”

He sighed loudly and closed his eyes, “I honestly don’t give a shit. I don’t care about her, she isn’t important—she doesn’t know me like you do.”

Bonney shook her head, “Stop.”

“What’s the matter?” Law understood how shady his actions were, but for the first time in his life he realized what he really wanted—what he really needed.

“I care about you too much to do this.” Bonney’s purple eyes were glistening with tears ready to spill.

Her words pulled on his heartstrings, “Do what?! We aren’t doing anything!” All he had done was hold her in his arms and fix her hair, Law let her go when he had really been aching to kiss her, to taste her, and to feel every part of her body with his own.

She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it and turned away.

Law had enough of this, he grabbed her chin with his long fingers and turned her head to face him, “How long have you wanted to be with me?”

Those purple eyes of hers widened and a tear slid down her cheek, “Law, I—”

“How. Long.” He was no longer asking, he needed to know her answer, he needed to know how much time he had wasted with someone he didn’t even care about—someone who barely even knew him.

Bonney closed her eyes and her tears began to fall, Law wiped them away, careful not to pull on her gold piercing under her right eye and waited for her reply. After a shaking inhalation, she whispered, “Since we first met.”

Law’s brain temporarily shut down from shock, then seemed to go into overdrive. He couldn’t wrap his mind around the situation and bluntly asked, “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

She scoffed through her tears, “Yeah _right._ You _hated_ me.”

He wanted to deny it, but he couldn’t. Law honestly didn’t like Bonney for a long time, he found her constant questioning and attempts to get-to-know him very obnoxious and irritating. Sighing in defeat he shook his head, “Bonney-ya… I—I don’t hate you—I never hated you.” It was true, Law hated a lot of things, but Bonney was never one of them, “I hated that someone like you would waste their time talking to me.”

From the moment they met, Bonney was always so nice to him, asking how he was, what he was up to, if he needed anything. She reminded him of his foster father, Corazon, in the way she seemed to take an interest in his well-being. And like Corazon, Bonney was always smiling, bringing happiness to everyone around them—whereas Law constantly gave off a menacing aura that kept people away.

They were still standing in the hallway between their apartments. Law was staring into her tear-filled eyes as he confessed, “I always thought you talked to me out of pity.”

“What? Why—how could you think that?” Bonney’s voice was soft and gentle but laced with disbelief.

Frowning, Law explained, “You’re the only one who knows what I’ve been through. I don’t like to, but you manage to make me talk about it…”

“Law,” he felt her hand on his cheek, soft and warm, “I talked to you because I liked you. I’ve always liked you and I wanted to get-to-know you better.”

He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, “I know…” Law sighed in content, “I know that now.”

When he opened his eyes, Law gazed at Bonney with adoration. Neither of them could speak as they were lost in their own world where they were the only ones that existed. The air was filled with enough electricity to power a lightbulb. Hesitantly, Law licked his lips and leaned forward, when Bonney closed her eyes and parted her lips, he closed the distance between them and kissed her.

In an instant, Bonney’s arms were around his neck and Law’s fingers tangled in her pink locks, pulling her closer. They both were moaning into each other’s mouth, deepening the kiss, and craving more. As their tongues danced together, Law became increasingly aroused and aware that they were not in private.

Breaking away panting, Law fished his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door to his apartment. He kept one arm around Bonney’s waist and pulled her inside, “I know that there are some things that need to get sorted out—”

Once the door was closed behind them, Bonney had stopped him with a kiss, “Don’t care—I want you.”

They continued to kiss, their hands were all over each other, making quick work of their clothes until they were standing together naked. Oddly, Law wasn’t focused on looking at her body. Instead, he was much more eager to _feel_ it—to memorize the way Bonney’s breasts fit in his hands, to learn where she liked to be touched, and worship the woman who was always there for him when he needed her most.

Before he knew it, they were stumbling onto the dinner table, bodies pressing against each other in ways that were new for them but felt so _right._ It was different than when he was with Sanji—with Sanji it was all lust—but with Bonney it was passion. Bonney _knows_ Law—she was well-aware of the kind of person he was and why—and she still wanted him.

Law was kissing her face as his hand dipped between her legs, _“Bonney-ya~”_

 _“Mmm~ Law…”_ Her voice was barely a whisper as she trembled beneath him.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that she was nervous, Law took his hand away and gazed at her worriedly, “Do you want me to stop?” This was already a dicey situation—he was still _technically_ with Sanji and was getting deeper and deeper into the belly of the beast with every passing moment.

But Bonney shook her head, “No, I want this,” she reached up and caressed his cheek.

In that moment, Law tossed all hesitation aside and kissed her fiercely. As his tongue invaded her mouth, Law’s hand returned between her legs and he inserted his finger into her wet pussy.

_Oh my GOD~ she’s so fucking tight! How is her pussy so ti—_

He stopped kissing her and removed his finger, “Are you a virgin?” There was disbelief in his tone, but he didn’t care, it was how he felt.

Bonney’s cheeks turned red, “Law, please…” She looked so embarrassed, it nearly broke his heart—too bad it was already shattered in pieces long ago.

Law needed to reassure her, “Bonney-ya, there is nothing to be ashamed about.” Then he expressed his own concern, “Fuck—are you sure that you want to do this with me?”

She nodded her head, with her purple eyes shining she confessed, “I wouldn’t want to with anyone else.”

His heart felt warm from Bonney’s words, Law captured her lips and kissed her passionately—as his way to prove she wouldn’t regret it. This would be his first time with a virgin, although most of the women he had been with in college were inexperienced, he never had been someone’s first. There were so many things running through his mind, but the one thing he knew for certain was that it would be memorable.

Their lips broke apart as Law kissed his way down Bonney’s chest, giving her nipples a few sucks and nips before making his way lower, to that sweet spot between her legs. He heard Bonney’s breath hitch when he reached the apex of her thighs, _“Law~”_

He inhaled her musky, sweet scent and groaned, _“Fuck, Bonney-ya~ you smell so good…”_

When he flicked out his tongue and licked her wet folds, Bonney screamed, _“AHH~ LAW~!”_

Immediately, Law realized he couldn’t be rough with her like he was with Sanji. Already, he could tell she was incredibly sensitive and since this was new for her, Law wanted it to be a good first experience. Bonney was important and special to him, he wanted to be gentle.

Law was kneeling between her tentatively spread-apart legs at the edge of his dinner table, he coaxed her to open them further, “Just tell me if I hurt you, okay?”

Bonney nodded her head as he softly circled her virgin hole, “Okay~” When he pushed his finger inside she squeezed around him and whimpered, _“Mmmmmh~”_

He slowly moved his index finger around inside her, _“Fuck, you’re so tight…”_ Law curled his finger to stretch her out more, _“Have you never been touched?”_

Her walls clenched around his finger as Bonney moaned, _“No~ I’ve never even used a tampon.”_

There was a split second where Law thought that to be a little too much information, but then he just thought it was incredibly sexy and an incredible honor to be the one who gets to do this with her. He smiled at her and his chest felt full of pride, his ego was soaring through the roof—and Law lived on the ground floor!

Since she was starting to loosen up, Law pushed a second finger inside, but that caused Bonney to gasp, “What is that!”

His hand froze, and he raised his eyebrow, “I just added another finger.”

“Oh.” Bonney took a deep breath, “Okay, continue.”

Law chuckled slightly, it was so different than being with Sanji, refreshing actually. When he really thought about it, there was nothing that special between him and Sanji—she was just some slut and he wanted to get laid. As he slowly worked his fingers in Bonney’s pussy, Law felt so much more trust and emotion between the two of them than he ever did with Sanji. With Bonney everything was different.

Bonney’s eyes were fluttering closed and her breaths getting heavier, Law could feel her squeezing around his fingers, but she was slowly getting used to having something inside her. When he began to scissor his fingers, she moaned, _“Ohh~ that feels good~!”_

 _“There’s more to come,”_ Law was barely getting started.

He slid his other hand up her thigh, to her clit and brushed his thumb over it, _“AHH! SHIT!”_

 _“You like that~?”_ Law pressed a little harder on her clit and continued to scissor his fingers, prepping her for something larger.

Her breath hitched, _“Uhh huuh~”_

“I’m putting in another finger, okay?” He didn’t want to surprise her again.

“Okay~” Law slowly inserted a third finger and was happy to hear the soft moan come from Bonney, _“Mmmm…”_

She was adjusting quite nicely, Law knew it was because she was completely relaxed and trusted him. It was a little unnerving since he never had to do this for someone before, but it was Bonney. There wasn’t anyone else he would want to do this for, Bonney was special—she was his—and he was filled with emotion knowing that she never let anyone else do this to her.

And honestly that was quite a shock, because Bonney didn’t seem like the kind of girl who saved herself for a guy. She wore skimpy clothing that showed-off her killer body and attractive enough that she could get any guy she wants.

_And she fucking wants me._

Law still couldn’t believe that the entire time they’d known each other, she had wanted to be with him. He wondered how much pain he caused her over the years, all the times he got upset with her for asking him questions. This whole time, he couldn’t understand why such a confident, head-strong, intelligent, caring, and quite-frankly—beautiful—woman was always talking to _him_ and turns out, it was really because he was the one she wanted.

 _“Aaaahh~ oh, Laww~”_ Bonney took in a sharp breath of air before letting it out in a loud moan, _“Shit~ that feels sooo good~!”_

He couldn’t contain the grin on his face and decided to rub her clit some more, _“How’s that?”_

 _“OHH~! FUCK!”_ Bonney’s pussy squeezed around his fingers as she moaned, _“LAAWWW~!”_

She was now feeling looser around his three fingers, Law grinned as he stood between her legs, “You ready for my dick?”

Her eyes were wide as she glanced down at his erection, “Will it hurt?”

His smile fell, he wished he could tell her no, but he didn’t want to sugarcoat things and was honest, “It probably will at first, but it will go away—my fingers can only do so much…”

With her purple eyes gazing up into his she nodded her head, “I’m ready, do it.”

That was all Law needed to hear, he removed his fingers from her stretched hole and swiftly replaced them with his dick.

Bonney gasped for air before crying out, _“AAAAAH~!”_

Law groaned, she was still rather tight around him, but he was completely sheathed inside her, balls deep. He could feel her pussy pulsating around him, and Law knew he wouldn’t be able to last for very long, but he sure as hell was going to make the most out of it.

He waited until Bonney’s breathing returned, mostly, back to normal before climbing onto the table, on top of her, “I’m going to start moving, tell me to stop if it hurts.”

When she nodded her head, Law pulled his hips back, sliding most of his length out of her, before slowly pushing himself back inside. Bonney’s breathing began to pick up, but it wasn’t due to pain. Law picked up his pace, starting a slow, steady rhythm as he took away her virginity.

 _“Shit, Bonney-ya, you feel so fucking amazing~”_ Law nearly growled into her ear.

She whimpered in his arms, _“Fuck, Law~ I wanted this for so long~!”_

 _“I know, I’m sorry it took so long,”_ he really, truly was.

Law kissed away the fresh tears on her cheeks as he moved inside her, completely unaware they now had a bystander in the doorway.

 _“OHH~ LAW!”_ Bonney gasped and lewdly moaned as Law hit a special spot.

He grinned down at her, _“I want to make you mine. Do you want that, Bonney-ya?”_

 _“Mmmm yes~ Law~ yes! I want you, I’ve always wanted you!”_ She looked so gorgeous, writhing beneath him. It was almost like de ja vu, like the first time he got together with Sanji, only this time it was no stranger, but someone he really cared for.

Picking up his pace, Law tried his best to keep hitting that spot, he wanted to prove to Bonney that she wouldn’t be disappointed with her choice and most of all that he appreciated her. _“Bonney-ya! Fuck! You are so amazing~! So beautiful… I want all of you!”_

She whimpered beneath him, _“Law… Law~ Oh, Law!”_

Law reached down to her clit and gently began to tease it as he added more gusto to his thrusts, tipping her over the edge.

 _“AAAAHH~ LAW~ LAW~ LAW~ LAW~ LAW~!”_ Bonney’s legs began to quiver as she came around him.

Getting Bonney, a virgin, to climax made his ego soar, _“Bonney—Bonney—Bonney!”_ Law came inside her and began to catch his breath when she tapped on his shoulder to get his attention.

When he looked up, Law saw her eyes were on something behind him. He followed her gaze and saw Sanji standing in his doorway with a blank look in her eye.

As he made eye-contact with her, he could see that she was hurt, and Law did feel bad about that. He watched her as she fumbled with her keys, then his and closed the door behind her.

There was a long moment where both he and Bonney said nothing. What words could really be said, no matter how they looked at it, what they did was wrong. Law felt dirty and slimy—he had cheated. He had told Sanji he had a nightmare, knowing she would come over, but he assumed she must’ve been cheating on him that he went ahead and did it to her.

A soft hand on his cheek and Bonney’s voice calmed him down, “It’s over between you two—we can be together.”

Two weeks later, Law was at the dojo for his lesson. His last lesson with him had been the day he got together with Bonney and Law was eager to let some of his frustrations out.

When Zoro walked into the room Law called to him, “How was the vacation, Zoro-ya?”

He scowled, “It wasn’t a vacation.”

Law couldn’t believe this guy, with a slight chuckle he teased, “Yeah, what else do you call a week-long trip out of town for a party, hmm? So, tell me, how was it?”

Zoro rolled his eye, “It was…interesting.”

Now that certainly caught Law’s attention, he raised an eyebrow and smirked, “Interesting?”

“It’s nothing.” He seemed rather distressed.

“Doesn’t _look_ like nothing.” Law smugly noted, mostly joking he teased, “Don’t tell me it’s a woman.”

“Okay~” Zoro tried to change the subject, “Let’s get started…”

Law laughed out loud, “Oh my god! I’m right aren’t I?!” He honestly couldn’t believe this.

Zoro looked like he was ready to skewer him as he spat, “Shut the hell up.”

He raised his tattooed hands in the air, “Hey, I didn’t say anything!”

With a long sigh, Zoro pleaded, “Can we please just get started?”

“Yeah, sure…” Law was getting a little worried but shook his head, “I’ve just never seen you like this.”

Zoro sighed, “I’ve never felt like this…”

This was just painful to watch, even for Law. The man who stood before him was usually so confident and sure of himself, it was _weird_ to see him look so defeated. Law had to know, “What’s she like?”

Groaning, Zoro simply told him, “She’s fucking frustrating, that’s what.”

That much was already quite obvious, so he asked, “Anything else?”

Zoro rolled his eye and added, “She’s blonde.”

Law began to laugh, “Yeah, I know the type.”

He made Zoro smirk, “Huh, frustrating, blonde women?”

“Yeah,” Law shook his head and warned him, “If you want my advice, I’d say she’s not worth the trouble.”

“What do you mean?” Zoro stared at him, confused.

“Honestly?” Law didn’t know the woman Zoro was talking about, but he knew someone similar, “My last girl was a blonde and as much as I enjoyed my time with her, she was always acting so needy and I _hated_ that.”

Part of Law wondered if Zoro had met Sanji, but if he met this woman on his trip, it was highly unlikely. Zoro seemed to be done talking about it though, and they started his lesson, silently dismissing the topic of women.  

The next week at the hospital had been crazy, there were multiple surgeries every day and they were understaffed. It was irritating the hell out of him, although Raftel itself was a rather small town, people from all over the world would travel to their hospital for life-saving operations. Yes, it was his job, but it was stressful work and took its toll on him.

On Monday morning, Law awoke with a splitting headache as his alarm clock buzzed on the nightstand next to his bed. He smashed his tattooed fist onto the object to make it shut up and ended up making his head hurt worse from the loud smashing sounds.

Groaning in agony, Law swung his long legs over the edge of the bed and sat up. He stretched his arms out to the sides and arched his back, causing it to crack.

That’s when he realized the absence of Bonney in the bed beside him. Law was still getting used to waking up with someone else, they had only been together a few weeks, but she was usually in bed with him when he woke up.

_Why isn’t she here? What happened last night—fuck, all of yesterday? Goddamn, I’m hungover._

He remembered that yesterday morning at the hospital they finally told him to go home and not come back for a couple of days. Since one of the things he always tended to neglect was eating, Law had planned on going to the grocery store to pick up some things since his place was pretty much bare of food. Then as he was walking down the aisle to grab rice, he saw something he never expected.

Zoro and Sanji were kissing each other.

There were so many things he had running through his mind, that he had left the grocery store and instead walked down the block to the liquor store where he bought himself a big bottle of spiced rum. Then he went home and got drunk; and _now_ he was regretting that decision because he had a hangover, at least he didn’t have to work.

Last night was mostly a mystery to him but judging by the state of his apartment, he must’ve been a complete mess. Although he couldn’t remember what he ended up doing other than trashing his place and drinking _way_ too much rum, Law had this overwhelming sense of loss and an ache in his chest.

The first thing he did was take a hot shower, that always managed to make him feel a little better. After that he brushed his teeth and got dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt. He decided to leave his apartment to grab a cup of coffee, once his door was locked, Law glanced over to Bonney’s door and decided to knock.

After a couple moments he heard her voice yell, “Hang on!” Then shuffling behind the door, the locks turning, the door opened, and he was greeted with her smiling face. But as soon as she saw it was him, Bonney’s smile fell, “What the hell are you doing here?”

Her response shocked him, “Huh? I was going to get a coffee, wanted to see if you’d join me. Why didn’t you sleep over last night?”

Bonney glared at him and spat, “Fuck off, Law!”

She tried to slam the door, but Law held it open with his arm and stared at her incredulously, “Hey, what’s the matter?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe I don’t want to see the asshole who thinks he can just fuck with people’s feelings and make them regret ever getting close to them in the first place?” There was malice in her voice, Law had never seen Bonney like this before.

“Bonney-ya, you’re freaking me out—seriously tell me what’s up.” Law was confused, he couldn’t think of why she would be acting like this, he couldn’t remember doing anything—

“You’re a selfish prick, Law!” And that was when she kicked him in the balls.

He fell onto his ass in the hallway and Bonney slammed her door shut. Law didn’t know what he did to deserve this, but he was certain it had something to do with what happened last night. More than anything he wanted to remember what he said or did to Bonney to piss her off so much. But first things first, he had to recover from a kick to the nuts.

When he finally could move again, Law stood up and knocked on her door again, only to hear her shout, “Go away!”

“Not until you tell me what happened. I don’t remember a damn thing about last night—the last thing I remember was going to the liquor store and getting rum.” He waited for her to say something, but was only met with silence, “Bonney~, please open up! I was fucking wasted—I’m sorry, please just talk to me!”

_Goddamnit, I am way too fucking hungover for this kind of shit. All I want is to get coffee with the woman I love._

He didn’t linger on that thought, because the door suddenly opened, and Bonney stepped aside to let him in. Law thanked her with gratitude only to be told, “Let’s just get this over with, okay?”

Law stared at her expecting for her to continue, until he realized she was waiting for an answer, “Uh, yeah, okay.”

“Alright, so,” she pursed her lips and nervously played with her hands, “You told me,” lowering her voice to mimic him, ‘I saw Sanji-ya and Zoro-ya making out in the middle of the goddamn rice aisle and it’s all your fucking fault that my nightmare has come true!’”

Her purple eyes were flooding with tears, it became quite obvious to Law that he had hurt her bad. He should kill himself for saying such a horrible thing to her; how could she ever forgive him for that—how could _he_ forgive himself for that? There was no excuse for what he had done, but Law needed to apologize, “Bonney-ya, I am so so—”

“Don’t.” She held her hand up, then pointed to the door, “Get out.”

“Bonney, please, I was drunk! I didn’t mean it! I was angry, and I took it out on you and I’m sorry!” He was shouting, tears nearly falling from his own eyes as he tried to explain himself. When she gazed up into his eyes, Law could see how much pain his words had caused and desperately wanted to make it go away. There was only one thing he wanted to say, at least once, “Bonney, I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> First things first, sorry for the cliffhanger.  
> Secondly, sorry this chapter took a while to write, it took a long time to get everything I wanted into it and figured out.  
> Thirdly, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I mean, let me tell you, it was a wild ride.  
> Finally, please leave a comment and let me know what you think, because I am DYING to know.  
> But also... My plans and ideas for upcoming chapters: Next we will have a Zoro chapter, I know everyone is probably dying to read about him and Law (I can't wait to share it with you all). I am also now considering to write one for Bonney, especially if anyone shows interest in reading such a thing. And in the unforeseeable future I plan on writing one in for Zeff.  
> I will be starting my final semester of college in a week, but I am too invested in this story to give up on it now.  
> Anyway, thanks for reading and please do leave me a comment, because they make me smile :D
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	13. Fearless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
> 
> This chapter is a little different, it starts with Zoro's POV, switches to Sanji's, then back to Zoro.
> 
> There is a sex scene, but not very long or graphic.

After Sanji had left to go to work, Zoro had continued his morning workout. His morning was entirely free since he didn’t have any lessons to teach, so he extended his workout. It was relaxing at first, straining his muscles and working up a sweat, but something was off. The morning seemed to drag on forever—it was unsettling, and Zoro felt as if he was waiting for something to happen.

And then it did.

There was a loud crash downstairs in his dojo as he was finishing up his lunch. It startled Zoro, so he went to go check it out.

What he found was a piss-ass-drunk Law with a half-empty bottle of rum. As soon as the raven-haired man saw him, he pointed at Zoro with his tattooed finger and shouted, _“YOU~_ This is _your_ fault!”

Zoro had no idea what the fuck was going on and was extremely confused, “ME?! What the fuck did I ever do?!”

Law stumbled closer to him, swinging around the bottle of rum, “Tell me, Zoro-ya. Exactly how long have you been fucking Sanji-ya behind my back? Hmm?”

 _“What?!”_ He shouted, _“You’re the one who cheated! Not her!”_ This was fucking ridiculous, Zoro couldn’t believe what he was hearing and seeing—the usually calm and composed Law was off in his own crazy, drunken fantasy-land.

The taller man hiccupped and shouted back, _“I always knew she was a fucking slut!”_

Hearing Law call Sanji that sent him over the edge. Zoro couldn’t stop himself and punched Law in the face, sending the man to the floor. As Law clutched his cheek and tried to pick himself back up, Zoro glared at him, _“Don’t you EVER fucking call Sanji that again!”_

Dark, cold eyes met his, then Law began to laugh, “I’ve been calling her that since we first met.”

Zoro reached down to lift Law by the collar of his shirt and brought him to eye level, growling “I. Don’t. Give. A. _FUCK.”_

“Why the hell do you care?” Law slurred, “-ts not like she’s special.”

Before he completely lost control, Zoro shoved Law away, making him fall to the floor and then began pacing back and forth while clenching and unclenching his fists. He needed to distance himself, otherwise he was _really_ going to snap.

Law was still on the floor, unable to get on his feet—the guy was pathetic, a complete drunken mess. As much as Zoro hated what Law did to Sanji and what he was saying about her, he felt the urge to help the guy.

Zoro joined him on the floor, “Law,” when pale, glossy eyes met his, Zoro asked, “What the hell happened to you? I mean, other than being drunk at noon?”

Law’s eyes were filled with turmoil, he looked like he was carrying a heavy burden, had something he needed to get off his chest. The man who never showed his true emotions was having a nervous breakdown, he didn’t even glare at Zoro, there was only the look of defeat, “I fucked up.”

Sighing, Zoro closed his eye and nodded, “Yeah, you did—you cheated on her.”

“No,” Law shook his head, “Not Sanji-ya.”

_Okay~ Law…you definitely DID cheat on her though…_

Without needing any prompting, Law added, “I fucked things up with Bonney-ya—I hurt her.”

“Wait… Who?” Zoro needed elaboration.

Law buried his face into the palms of his hands, “She’s the one I cheated on Sanji-ya with.” After taking a deep breath, he slowly slid his hands down his cheeks, “She’s the woman I love.”

Those words resonated in him, “She’s special to you.”

Nodding his head, Law met his gaze, “Yeah…how did you—”

“Sanji is special to me,” in a weird way, Zoro could understand how Law felt, “I love her.”

The look on Law’s face became one of shock, then horror as he proclaimed, “I’m a fucking idiot.”

It wasn’t what Zoro was expecting to hear him say, but he couldn’t say that he disagreed with Law. He still didn’t understand what was actually going on, but the guy cheated on Sanji—only an idiot would do something _that_ stupid.

“Listen, Law—I’ve always thought you were an okay guy,” Zoro took a deep breath, “But you _really_ can’t hold your liquor.”

Thankfully, he got the guy to smirk, “I know.” After a brief pause, Law explained, “That’s what started this mess.”

Zoro gestured to the bottle of rum and Law handed it to him. He took a long pull from the bottle, if he was going to have some kind of heart-to-heart with the guy his girlfriend used to sleep with, he needed to get some booze in him. Deciding that Law already had more than enough, Zoro didn’t bother giving him back the bottle, “Tell me what happened.”

Law scoffed, “Where to begin…” He sighed, sounding embarrassed, “I saw you and Sanji at the grocery store yesterday.” He paused, but Zoro stayed quiet, wanting to hear what Law had to say, “It drove me fucking crazy—seeing the two of you together—it was like my worst nightmare had come true.”

“Wait, wait, wait…” Zoro needed him to repeat that, “What did you just say?” It was a little odd to be hearing all of this.

“What? ‘It was like my worst nightmare had come true.’” Law sighed, sounding defeated, “I always knew the kind of guy Sanji-ya was into, I knew I wasn’t it—that _you_ were… The whole time we were together I was paranoid that the two of you would meet and she would start fucking _you_ instead of me. I had nightmares about it all the time—the only way I knew how to deal with it was to prove I was the one she was really having sex with…” Law’s voice broke and he suddenly began to cry, “And that whole time, all I really was doing was hurting Bonney-ya.”

As Law was crying beside him, Zoro was left speechless, absolutely speechless. It was obvious that Sanji really didn’t mean anything to Law and that he had used her for sex. Zoro already suspected this, but hearing Law admit to it certainly didn’t make him feel any better. Just thinking about it made him want to slit Law’s throat. But he wasn’t a reckless kid who didn’t care about anything—at least not anymore. Zoro was a man in love, just like Law, and because he couldn’t imagine what kind of agony Law was being put through, he tried to help.

“Did you at least apologize?” Honestly, Zoro wasn’t sure what else to say.

Unfortunately, it seemed to be the wrong thing, because Law began to sob harder, “She-she wouldn’t l-let me!”

Zoro couldn’t help but look at him in disgust, the guy was really a pathetic and sad drunk. He took another swig of rum to try and get to a level of intoxication that could handle something like this. After wiping a drop of rum from the corner of his mouth, Zoro asked, “What’d you do?”

Through his sobs, Law managed to say, “I told her it was her fault my nightmare came true,” his voice was full of melancholy and regret. Zoro’s own heart began to ache as Law continued, “That was last night, I woke up and couldn’t remember a damn thing. When I went to see her, she called me a selfish prick—said that I fuck with people’s emotions and she regrets getting close to me… I told her I love her—” His voice broke with a sob, then Law cleared his throat, “But she didn’t believe me.”

Okay, now _this_ was something Zoro felt like he could help Law with, “Then you need to prove it to her.”

Law shook his head, “It’s too late—she’ll never forgive me.” He was staring down at his hands with a frown, “I hurt her, Zoro-ya. She’s the only one who really understands me, and I hurt her.”

Hesitantly, Zoro placed his hand on Law’s shoulder, “Will you ever forgive _yourself_ if you don’t try?”

It was by far, the longest and deepest conversation they ever had. In all the years he had known Law, he had never seen him this low, and Zoro knew Law was a tough, cold-hearted man. He respected Law, not only as a fellow swordsman, but as a man with principles. Law always seemed so head-strong and confident in himself, seeing him like this was just depressing. Zoro certainly didn’t hate Law and he didn’t pity him either, he just could relate, because he knew that if _he_ ever said something like that to Sanji, if _he_ ever hurt her like that—Zoro would be in the same miserable state as Law.

Wiping his tear-stained cheeks, Law shook his head, “I don’t think I’ll _ever_ forgive myself.”

Zoro finished the rest of the rum in the bottle Law had when he arrived, but due to his high tolerance for alcohol, wasn’t even buzzed. He got up from the floor and held his hand out to Law, “Come on. Get up.”

Thankfully, he didn’t argue with him and took Zoro’s hand who helped him stand. Law was his afternoon lesson today anyway, and in a way, he _was_ going to be giving him lessons. He at least showed up on time—even if he was drunk…at least Zoro was getting paid.

He helped Law walk to the garage and into the passenger seat of his car. The box of Law’s things from Sanji’s place was still in the backseat—Zoro was going to make sure to give that to him when he dropped him off.

Once he was buckled into the driver’s seat with the engine started, Zoro turned to Law, “Where’s your place?”

“It’s by the hospital,” he answered.

Zoro began to back his car from the garage and headed in the direction of the hospital.

After a couple minutes of driving, Law turned to him, “You’re going the wrong way.”

Grinding his teeth together, Zoro ignored him and asked, “What’s something Bonney likes?”

Without hesitation, he told him, “Junk food.” Law thought about it a little more and clarified, “Pizza—why?”

“Is there a pizza place in town?” He honestly didn’t know, Zoro didn’t typically go out to restaurants.

Law’s face seemed to pale, “Yeah, she owns it.”

“Great,” that made things easier, “Tell me how to get there.”

“I don’t think I should really go see her right now…” Law looked rather nervous, but he began giving him directions regardless of that fact.

When they were stopped at a red light, Zoro turned to Law and assured him, “You aren’t. I will.”

However, that seemed to make Law more upset, “No—”

“Shut up. Nothing’s gonna happen.” Zoro didn’t understand why Law wouldn’t want him talking to Bonney—it’s not like _he_ was interested in her, he’s never even met her.

A couple minutes later and they were parked outside _Bonney’s Pizza Café._ It was only a few blocks from the hospital and Zoro assumed that Law’s place was also nearby, but he didn’t recognize the area he was in.

Leaving the engine running, Zoro got out of the car, but quickly instructed Law, “Stay there, you’re too drunk to come inside anyway.” He didn’t bother hearing if Law had anything to say to that, Zoro just slammed the driver’s side door and walked inside the restaurant.

There was a bell attached to the door that chimed as it rattled shut behind him. It wasn’t nearly as fancy of a place as _All Blue,_ but it was a pizza café—not a five-star restaurant. There were a few tables that had people eating at them, but the place wasn’t too busy.

A pink-haired woman with a gold hoop pierced beneath her right eye appeared from a room Zoro assumed to be the kitchen, “Hello! What can I get for you?”

Zoro ignored her question and asked, “Are you Bonney?”

The woman smiled at him, “Yes, I am. Is there something you need?”

Glancing around the room, Zoro nodded in the direction of an empty table in the corner, “Do you have a moment?”

Bonney seemed rather confused by his question but nodded her head. They sat across from each other at the table before she asked him, “What’s this about?”

He met her gaze and sighed, “Law.”

Her expression changed from confusion to concern, “Law? Why? Did something happen to him? Is he okay? Where is he?”

Zoro held his hand up to stop her, “Well, that’s kinda why I’m here.” He took a deep breath and scratched the back of his head, “He showed up at my dojo—drunk outta his mind.”

“Wait— _you’re_ Zoro?” She suddenly asked.

“I am,” he figured Law had talked about him with her, but didn’t really care about that—it wasn’t why he was here, “He told me what happened last night and this morning—”

“Let me guess, Law sent you here to try and get me to talk to him. Well, it’s not going to work,” Bonney sighed loudly, “He’s an ass.”

After watching her for a moment, Zoro observed, “You don’t really believe that.”

Bonney seemed flustered by his comment, “What? Of course, I do! He cheated on Sanji with me and then as soon as he found out the two of you were together, he acted like I meant nothing to him!”

Zoro rolled his eye, “Yeah, he did. But he didn’t ask me to come here and talk to you. The only thing he has done is insult my girlfriend and cry like a baby about how he’ll never be able to forgive himself for hurting the woman he loves.”

She froze, and her eyes grew wide, “Law… Law was crying?”

“Yeah,” Zoro sighed loudly, “I’ve known the guy for how many years—but I’ve never seen him like this. He isn’t himself.”

Bonney seemed to be too shocked to say anything, not that Zoro could really blame her—the Law he knew wouldn’t act like the one sitting in his car out in the parking lot.

“Look, I don’t have any reason to help either of you—I’m not sure why I am even trying…” Zoro groaned, “It’s not like I owe Law any favors, especially after what he’s done, but here I am.”

“You said that Sanji is your girlfriend?” There was hesitation in Bonney’s voice, she seemed rather nervous.

“Yeah, she is.” Zoro realized that Bonney probably felt awkward because of everything, so he reassured, “Look, I’m not here to talk about what you two did to Sanji, okay? It’s my job to make her happy and I’ll be sure to do that. I’m here because I wanted to tell you that Law isn’t—not without you. I know that you’re hurt by what he said, but the guy clearly isn’t in his right mind when he’s been drinking. At least let him apologize.”

She was quiet for a moment, then asked, “Did he really say he loves me?”

He nodded, “Yeah, he did.”

Inhaling a shaky breath, Bonney pleaded, “Will you please bring me to him?”

Zoro stood from the table, “Sure, I told him to stay in the car.”

They exited the restaurant, the bell chiming on the door behind them, and Zoro pointed to his car, where the still drunk and crying Law was sitting in the passenger seat with the window rolled down.

Bonney ran over to him and hugged Law through the open window. Zoro left them alone and instead looked around at the different shops and places in this part of town. He noticed there was a flower shop down the street and made a mental note to stop there after he took care of things with Law.

After a few minutes, Bonney came walking back over to him with teary, but happy eyes, “Thank you.”

He waved her off, “Don’t mention it.”

Bonney gave him a grateful smile and nodded her head before going back into her pizza café.

When Zoro went back to the car, Law seemed to be mostly back to normal, although still drunk. “I don’t know what you did in there, but thanks.”

With a loud sigh, Zoro brushed him off as well, “Just tell me which one of these places is yours so I can take your drunk-ass home.”

Thankfully, Law told him what building to park in front of and Zoro killed the engine once he drove down the street. They both got out of the car and Zoro grabbed the box from the backseat.

Law lead the way into the building, seeming to dismiss the fact that Zoro was following him and just went with it. After walking down the hallway on the main floor, Law stopped to unlock a door on the left and walked inside.

The place would’ve been nice if it wasn’t so trashed. It looked a lot like Ace, Sabo, and Luffy’s place did growing up with how many things were broken. Law seemed unfazed by the mess and it made Zoro guess he had probably done it because he was upset.

He set the box down on the dinner table, then turned to Law, “Will you be okay if I leave you alone?”

The taller man began digging in the box, ignoring his question and took out the stack of photos As he looked through them, Law murmered, “I never deserved to be with her.”

_Can’t argue with that._

Zoro didn’t voice his agreement and stayed quiet. Law held up the photo Zoro noticed earlier, where Sanji was wearing a gold dress and a bright smile, “I just couldn’t say no to someone like her.”

He couldn’t help but scoff, “Why are you telling me this?”

Law looked up at him with wide eyes, “I was so selfish—I knew since the night Sanji-ya and I met that you were better for her—but I wanted her to myself. I’m sorry.”

After Law’s apology, there was a moment of silence that passed between them before Zoro rubbed his face in an effort to clear his mind. “Look,” he started, “I am pissed that I didn’t meet Sanji two years ago when she first moved to town. One of my childhood friends knew Sanji from college and had been bugging me to go to _All Blue_ since she opened the place.” He paused to take a deep breath before continuing, “But Sanji and I are together _now,_ and that’s all that really matters. I’m not going to mope about lost time that I’ll never get back when I’ve got her now.”

Nodding in affirmation, Law noted, “She deserves someone like you.”

“Shut up,” Zoro didn’t want to hear that from Law, “You don’t even care about her.”

There was a brief pause before Law smirked, “Exactly. I didn’t deserve her—but you do.” Zoro sent him a glare, causing Law to laugh, “You really like her.”

He clarified, “I love her.”

Law seemed to be studying him, and Zoro was almost starting to wish he would go back to being the sad and pathetic drunk instead of this creepy, over-obsessive, and nosy one. “I never took you for the type of guy who falls in love.”

Zoro actually smirked at that, “I didn’t think I would.”

“So, you met on that trip?” Law seemed genuinely curious.

“Yeah—in Alabasta. Our friend got engaged, apparently she used the opportunity to set us up.” Zoro couldn’t help but smile at the memory, “From the moment I saw her I was completely blown away.”

Law smiled back, “I know what you mean.”

There was one thing that Zoro couldn’t seem to wrap his mind around, “Why did you think she’d like me?”

That made Law raise his eyebrow and smirk, “She had said something about deliciously-ripped men and it made me think of you.”

“Well~” Zoro had enough of _this_ conversation, “I’m gonna go.”

Rolling his eyes, but not objecting, Law waved his hand, “Yeah, fine. I’ll see you next week.”

Zoro did _not_ want to know why Law thought that description applied to him and called, “See ya,” back over his shoulder as he walked out the apartment. Zoro looked down the hallway and tried to remember which way he came from.

_I think Law’s door was on the left, so that means I should go right… Right?_

He remembered correctly and found his way out of the building and back to his car. He didn’t _always_ get lost. Zoro also remembered he wanted to stop at the flower shop he saw earlier.

 _That_ did take Zoro far longer to find than he would care to admit. When he parked in front of found the place, he was relieved.

Walking inside, Zoro was at first overwhelmed by the smell of flowers all around him, but then he was surprised by who was standing behind the counter, “Tashigi?”

The woman glanced up from the arrangement she was working on and adjusted her red-framed glasses, “OH! Zoro!” She gave him a bright smile, “What are you doing here?”

He made his way to the counter, looking around at the colorful flowers all around the shop, “I wanted to buy my girlfriend some flowers.”

“You’ve got a girlfriend?” She sounded shocked.

Zoro smiled, “Yeah, why do you seem so surprised?”

Tashigi’s cheeks turned bright red, “I-I’m not!”

He raised his eyebrow at her, “Disappointed?”

That seemed to make her even more embarrassed, “W-what?!”

Zoro wanted to laugh, she looked so funny, it was also a little nostalgic because she reminded him of Kuina. But he didn’t want to embarrass her any further, so he waved his hand, “Relax, it’s fine.”

There was a brief moment of silence before Tashigi sighed, “Okay, so.” She became very professional and serious, “What kind of occasion are the flowers for?”

“Oh,” Zoro shrugged, “I just wanted to get her flowers.”

She blinked up at him before practically swooning, _“Awww~ that is so~ sweet!”_

Now Zoro was the one who was blushing, “Uh, th-thanks?” He wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

Tashigi clasped her hands together with a huge smile across her face, “Tell me what she’s like—how long have you been together?”

He _did_ know how to answer that, “Well, she’s the chef at _All Blue—_ owns the place, actually. She’s an incredible singer and dancer, and she’s gorgeous—Sanji’s got these big blue eyes, long blonde hair, pretty smile… Fell in love the moment I saw her.” Fuck, Zoro was really starting to miss her, especially talking about her like this, “I guess we’ve officially been together for a few days.”

Although she seemed saddened at first by finding out he had a girlfriend, Tashigi wasn’t holding a grudge and appeared to be rather interested in hearing more about Sanji. She was nodding her head enthusiastically as he talked about her and didn’t even flinch when he called her gorgeous.

“Alright, I have an idea, I’ll be right back.” Tashigi disappeared to a back room and Zoro decided to take the opportunity to take a look around.

There was actually a lot more than just flowers in the shop, Zoro noticed there were all sorts of trinkets and figurines that people would probably put in their garden. He also saw vases and pots, books on different kinds of plants and flowers, but what really caught his eye was a book that sat on the counter she had been working at that was about swords.

_That must be hers._

Right as he was about to take a look at the book, Tashigi returned from the back room with a bouquet of flowers. Immediately they made him think of Sanji—there were mostly yellow flowers in the arrangement, with small bunches of blue ones added in.

“You like it?” She asked him with a smile, “The larger yellow ones are coreopsis, for love at first-sight, and the smaller yellow ones are primrose—young love—and the blue ones are called forget-me-nots, they symbolize true love.”

He broke into a huge grin, “It’s perfect.”

Tashigi seemed to be pleased with her work, “Do you want to pick out a vase?”

Zoro glanced back at the vases, “Uh, it’s better if you do that.” He had no idea what he was doing, and it was obvious she did.

She nodded to him and took one from the shelf that was pure white with four sides and crisp edges that grew wider as it grew taller. When she put the flowers in the vase it made the arrangement look even better, “You’ll just want to fill it with water as soon as you get the chance.”

“Here,” he handed her his credit card and had her charge it. After signing the receipt, Zoro put his card back in his wallet and removed a few bills to give her a tip, “Thanks, Tashigi. Could you write down that stuff you said about the flower meanings for me?”

Her smile was sweet and genuine, “Of course.” Tashigi jotted down what he asked on a card and handed it to him, “Here you go.”

“Thanks,” Zoro put the card in his pocket and grabbed the vase of flowers, “I’ll see you tomorrow for your lesson—nine ‘o’clock!”

Tashigi waved him goodbye with a wide smile, “See you then!”

Once he was back in his car, Zoro put the flowers in the passenger seat beside him and took off in the direction of his dojo.

Unfortunately, it took him nearly half an hour to get there, he didn’t know this part of town…

After parking his car back in the garage, Zoro took the flowers upstairs and filled the vase with water.

He put it at the center of the dinner table and checked the time.

_Two-fifty-seven. That means it’s almost time for the kids to start showing up for lessons…_

~~~~~~~~

Sanji had just finished singing a few songs at the end of the night when she turned to Brook, her lead musician, and nodded her head.

He handed her a teal-colored electric guitar that she had told him she would be using earlier and took a seat at the drums on stage.

She slung the strap over her shoulder and sat on a stool at the front of the stage.

After she was given the order of sea king steak and onigiri, Sanji knew Zoro was here for dinner. She had spoken with Brook before performing that she was going to mix things up a bit and told him the song.

Brook started the song off with a beat on the drums and Sanji quickly joined in. She knew Zoro was watching her as she plucked the notes on the guitar and sang into the microphone. (“Fearless” by Taylor Swift)

 _There's somethin' bout the way_  
The street looks when it's just rained  
There's a glow off the pavement  
You walk me to the car  
And you know I wanna ask you to dance right there  
In the middle of the parking lot  
Yeah

Sanji glanced out at the crowd and when she spotted the familiar green head of hair, she smiled.

 _We're drivin' down the road_  
I wonder if you know  
I'm tryin' so hard not to get caught up now  
But you're just so cool  
Run your hands through your hair  
Absent mindedly makin' me want you

She stood up from the stool she was sitting on and kicked it behind her as she sang the chorus.

 _And I don't know how it gets better than this_  
You take my hand and drag me head first  
Fearless  
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance  
In a storm in my best dress  
Fearless

It had been a while since she played guitar, but it was one of her favorite songs and was pretty much muscle memory.

 _So baby drive slow_  
Til we run out of road in this one horse town  
I wanna stay right here in this passenger's seat  
You put your eyes on me  
In this moment now capture it remember it

 _Cause I don't know how it gets better than this_  
You take my hand and drag me head first  
Fearless  
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance  
In a storm in my best dress  
Fearless

She rocked out on the electric guitar and let her fingers remember the notes on their own.

 _Well you stood there with me in the doorway_  
My hands shake  
I'm not usually this way but  
You pull me in and I'm a little more brave  
It's the first kiss, it's flawless, really something, it's fearless.

The beat slowed and Sanji smiled out at her boyfriend in the crowd before picking it back up again.

 _Cause I don't know how it gets better than this_  
You take my hand and drag me head first  
Fearless  
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance  
In a storm in my best dress  
Fearless

 _Cause I don't know how it gets better than this_  
You take my hand and drag me head first  
Fearless  
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance  
In a storm in my best dress  
Fearless

_Oh-oh, aww yeah!_

It was much different than the music they usually played, but the applause was about the same as always, maybe even more. It didn’t really matter, Sanji didn’t play that song for anyone but Zoro. After handing the guitar back to Brook, Sanji thanked him and began making her way over to her boyfriend’s table.

She paid no mind to the countless pairs of eyes that were on her and focused only on a single gray one. As their eyes met, Sanji felt like the stress of her day was melted away. Her face broke into a huge smile and suddenly she was sitting across from him at his table, “Hey.”

_Oh—fuck me! Did I really just say ‘hey’? Not even ‘hey marimo’—just ‘hey’—this is fucking embarrassing… But fuck—I really missed him._

“Hey gorgeous,” his smile was dazzling, “You are amazing.”

Sanji felt herself blush, not knowing what to say to that, she decided to ask, “How was your day?”

Zoro rolled his eye, “Where to begin, where to begin…” Sanji found herself glaring at him until he said, “I missed you like hell.” That made her smile, and then Zoro went on to say, “I saw Law today, he showed up for his lesson a drunken mess.”

Hearing that made her burst out laughing, “WHAT?! That’s hilarious!”

He scratched the back of his head, a nervous tick of his, “It was actually really awkward and uncomfortable…”

“Oh,” Sanji reminded herself of the awkward type of situation they were all in together and asked more seriously, “What happened?”

Clucking his tongue, Zoro explained, “Apparently he saw us at the grocery store together yesterday and it must’ve set him off. He said he always had these nightmares where you and I were together and told Bonney it was her fault that his nightmare had come true.”

Sanji stared at him wide-eyed, “Wait—so you’re telling me that his nightmares were about _you_ and _me?”_

He nodded his head, “Yeah, said he’d have sex with you after to cope…” This was certainly a strange conversation to be having with her boyfriend but they still continued it, “Anyway, he was crying about how he hurt Bonney and how he’d never forgive himself—honestly I’ve never seen him like that and I wasn’t about to let him stay that way when I thought I could help.”

“Wait, Law was _crying?”_ Sanji just couldn’t believe that.

“Yeah, I know.” Zoro shook his head and took a long swig from the bottle of sake at the table, “I was just as surprised as you are—so was Bonney.”

That was unexpected, “You talked to Bonney?” Sanji could feel her forehead tick.

Zoro was oblivious and rambled on, “Yeah, I went to her pizza place and told her that Law was a mess without her. They seemed to make up after that.”

Sanji was so incredibly pissed off that she was sure once her mouth opened she would be spewing profanities at him.

_How could he do that?! Law cheated on me with Bonney and then he went and fixed their stupid ‘relationship’—why did he do that?!_

Apparently Zoro finally picked up on her bad mood, “You’re not mad, are you?”

Her mouth fell open, “Not mad? No, I’m not mad—I’m fucking furious.”

Although she was glaring at him with as much venom as possible, Zoro seemed unfazed, “Sanji, they love each other, let it be.”

_L-love each other?!_

She stood from the table and tried her best to _not_ make a scene in the middle of her own restaurant as she headed to her office.

In her fit of rage, Sanji didn’t notice that Zoro followed her until he stopped her from slamming the door as he tried to sneak in behind her.

“Go away, moss-head.” Sanji was _soo_ not in the mood for this.

Zoro furrowed his eyebrows, “What if I told you I punched him in the face?”

Sanji let her guard down and Zoro was able to slip into her office. She wondered if he was just saying that to try and make her feel better, _“Did_ you?”

He nodded his head, “I did.”

She raised her eyebrow, “Why?”

His cheeks turned pink and he furrowed his brow again, “He insulted you.”

“He called me a slut, didn’t he?” If Sanji knew anything about Law, it was that he liked to call her that.

Zoro’s eye grew dark and looming, “He can’t call you that. I don’t care if he used to but can’t anymore.”

Sanji didn’t know how she could possibly stay mad at him now and sighed, “Okay.”

“Okay, what?” It was times like this she really didn’t appreciate Zoro’s stubbornness.

Sighing again, “It’s fine, I’m not mad.” Sanji grabbed her bag and smiled at him, “Should we go?”

He cracked a smile back and Sanji had to remind herself to breathe before leading them out the back door into the alley.

Once they were outside, Zoro caught her hand and pulled her into his arms, “I love you.”

The combination of being in his comfortable embrace and the soft, calming way he said those three words made Sanji swoon. She tilted her face up to his and closed her eyes as their lips met. It was a sweet, tender kiss that left her feeling breathless and lightheaded, “Shit, I need a cigarette.”

Zoro chuckled, “Wanna go for a walk?”

Smiling at his suggestion, Sanji nodded, “Yeah, I’ll lead.”

He rolled his eye but didn’t comment on it as he intertwined their fingers, holding her hand.

Neither of them felt like they had to talk, Sanji was happy to simply be in Zoro’s company after a long day of work and it seemed he felt the same. She wanted to go back to her special spot with him and watch the sunset.

Sanji shivered as they reached the railing of the cliff, that was when she realized she hadn’t brought a jacket. Before she knew it, Zoro was wrapping his leather jacket around her shoulders. The gesture was incredibly sweet and unexpected, it made her heart skip a beat.

Then she felt Zoro’s arms wrap around her waist from behind and his lips against her throat. Sanji felt so relaxed and content in that moment, leaning against his chest and gazing out at the ocean.

When Zoro’s lips reached her ear, he whispered, “Do you know how beautiful you are?”

Sanji’s eyes grew wide from the question, she didn’t dare look at him as she shook her head.

She could _hear_ the smile as he spoke, “Every time I see you up on stage singing, I feel the same way you do when you look at this sunset.”

Abruptly, Sanji turned her head to finally look at him, “But how could I—”

_Possibly… Be that… Beautiful?_

Zoro stopped her from speaking with a passionate kiss. She was caught off guard, but Zoro had one of his strong arms wrapped around her waist and she knew there was no way he’d let her fall. His rough, calloused hand was soft and gentle as he caressed her cheek. Sanji let herself be swept into Zoro’s kiss and let him show her that he was sincere.

Sanji had no idea how long they stood there kissing, but the sun was right at that sweet spot on the horizon when they broke apart. It really was a beautiful view.

“Your beauty is as endless as the sea,” was whispered near her ear by Zoro and Sanji stopped breathing.

_Oh my god-oh my god-oh my god! Did Zoro really just say that?!_

“I can’t imagine my life without you anymore,” Zoro’s words surprised her.

Turning to him in disbelief, Sanji asked, “Really?”

His smile looked almost sad, “The reason I helped Law today was because I knew that I would feel the same way he did hurting Bonney if I ever hurt you.”

Zoro’s words tugged on her heartstrings, “I know you would never hurt me, Zoro.”

He closed his eye and shook his head, “I hope I never do, but I know I’m not perfect and I’m bound to mess things up.”

She was seeing a less than confident look in Zoro’s eye when he met her gaze. Sanji raised her right hand to his cheek and gently ran her thumb down the scar over his eye, “As long as you never cheat on me, I’ll forgive you.”

That seemed to ignite the fire in his eye, “I would _never_ do that, Sanji.”

Sanji didn’t doubt him, she trusted Zoro. With a small smile she reassured him, “I believe you.”

Zoro pulled her in for another kiss, this time turning her body to face him. Sanji could hardly differentiate his body from hers as they fit together so seamlessly. She felt Zoro comb his fingers through her hair, clutching the back of her head. His other arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her firmly against him.

The way Zoro kisses and touches her is different from Law and all the other men before him. It was genuine and held meaning, Zoro really cared about her, more than Law ever did. She wasn’t used to being treated like this… Like she was truly important and special to someone. Zoro was dependable and trustworthy, the perfect guy for her.

_I am so lucky to have this man._

The sunlight was quickly leaving, Sanji broke their kiss, “We should go home.”

He smirked at her, “Sure.”

As they turned from the railing and the view of the ocean, Zoro held his hand out for Sanji to take. The action made her stomach flip-flop, but she took it with both hands and clung onto his arm to tease, _“Oh_ marimo~, you really _are_ a romantic~”

There was a small dusting on pink across his tan cheeks that Sanji could barely make out under the streetlights. He smirked at her and raised his eyebrow, “You think so?”

Sanji rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop the smile that formed on her lips or her laughter, “Nah, your moss-brains couldn’t _possibly_ understand romance.”

 _“Hey!”_ Zoro protested, but that just made Sanji smile wider and laugh harder. He shot her a non-threatening glare and grumbled, “I understand romance…”

She held her tongue as they walked the rest of the way home, still holding hands. Sanji enjoyed seeing this flustered side of Zoro very much. Then she also realized she never smoked her cigarette.

_Wow, I totally forgot… I don’t really feel like I need one though… Whatever, I’ll skip it for now._

When they got back to the dojo and went upstairs, Sanji realized she still had Zoro’s jacket over her shoulders. After taking it off, she turned to hand it back to him, only to find he was gone, “Zoro?!”

She heard him yell back, “I’m in the kitchen!”

Sighing, Sanji shook her head, “Why must he wander off like that…” When she turned right, towards the kitchen, she stopped and stood frozen in place.

At the center of the dinner table was a large bouquet of yellow and blue flowers in an elegant white vase.

Zoro came out of the kitchen with a worried expression on his handsome face, “Do you like them?”

Another moment passed and Sanji was still unable to answer him, too stunned by the beautiful arrangement that was so unique and unlike anything she had ever seen.

Finally, she took a few steps forward and studied them more closely, there were two different types of yellow flowers, one larger than the other and both kinds were in various shades, some darker than others.

“Why’d you get me flowers?” Not that she was complaining, but Sanji had never received flowers from a guy before.

He was smiling at her when she glanced back over to him, “I just wanted to.”

She felt herself blush, “Thank you,” Sanji gave him a smile back, “They’re beautiful.”

His smile grew larger, “There’s more,” Zoro dug in his pocket and pulled out a small card, “The flowers mean something too.”

Handing her the slip of paper, Sanji read what was written:

 _‘Small yellow, Primrose: young love_  
Large yellow, Coreopsis: love at first sight  
Small blue, Forget-Me-Not: true love’

Sanji read and reread the card more times than she could remember. She reached out with her hand and lightly touched one of the long petals on a coreopsis flower before leaning forward and smelling them, “Mmmm…”

“So, you like them?” Zoro sounded so nervous and unsure, it was a little odd, but Sanji found it cute.

“Of course!” She gave him a bright smile, “How could I not?”

He shrugged and scratched the back of his head, “Didn’t know if you liked flowers or not.”

Sanji stared at him blankly, “Obviously I like flowers—what woman doesn’t?”

The blush that formed on his cheeks was adorable, “I don’t know… I’ve never gotten flowers for someone before.”

_Ohmygod—he’s so fucking adorable!_

She was swooning, “You’re the first person who’s ever gotten me flowers.”

Zoro raised his eyebrow, “Seriously?”

Sanji nodded her head, “Well, yeah~ I’ve never exactly dated someone before…”

“You never had a secret admirer or anything?” He seemed to be rather skeptical as he stared at her with his eyebrow raised.

She shook her head, “Noo~ Boys were always afraid to talk to me because of Zeff. Once I was in college—well, I wasn’t the type of girl that guys had to win over…”

_Fuck. Why did I have to say that out loud…?_

Suddenly, Zoro was at her side, turning her face up to his for a soft kiss, “Sanji, I love you.”

Her heartbeat was erratic in her chest, Sanji couldn’t stop herself from blushing as Zoro began to push her bangs from her face.

His gray eye was soft and kind as it gazed into her blue ones, “I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy.”

Sanji’s breath was caught in her throat and she actually stopped breathing for a moment. Her eyes were wide, but she couldn’t look away from his handsome face. The way he smiled made her bones go soft, Sanji’s brain felt the same way, as if it turned to goop.

Then Zoro began to chuckle, “And you said I didn’t understand romance.”

 _That_ Sanji could manage a response to, _“Hey!_ That is _not_ fair!”

­Or maybe she couldn’t, because that only made Zoro laugh harder, “You should’ve seen your face!”

Sanji’s eyes were wide as she furrowed her eyebrows and puffed out her cheeks, “Shut up! You stupid, idiot, moss-head!” She hit his chest with each insult she gave, trying to get him to let her go—when had he wrapped his arms around her?

“Okay, okay,” he stopped laughing at her, but instead of letting go, Zoro pulled her head to rest against his chest. As she relaxed in his arms, Zoro kissed the top of her head, “Better?”

She found herself nodding and breathing in his musky, manly scent to calm down, “Yes.”

Zoro sighed, as if he was relieved, “Good.” To Sanji, it seemed like Zoro had been feeling stressed for quite some time.

“Hey,” she tilted her head to look at him, “Are _you_ okay?”

He smirked at her, “Yeah,” then kissed her lips, “Just a weird day.”

_Oh yeah…_

Sanji frowned, “Did you give Law his stuff back?”

Zoro nodded his head, “Yeah, it was…” As he was searching for words, Sanji grew more and more nervous, until finally he went with, “Weird.”

She rubbed at her temple in frustration, “Well, what happened?”

He took a deep breath and let it out before slowly explaining, “He was looking through the photos and… Said he was selfish, wanted you for himself. He told me he didn’t deserve you—that I did…” Zoro began to blush, “Also that he always thought you’d like me because apparently I’m ‘deliciously-ripped.’”

_What the fuck?_

“I know…” Apparently, she said that out loud, oh well. Zoro shook his head with a smile, “I got out of there pretty quick after that.”

Sanji couldn’t help but laugh, “How long did it take you to find your way home?”

He gave her a threatening look, “I went to the flower shop after that.”

“Oh!” Somehow the idea of Zoro going into a flower shop just seemed too bizarre to be true.

Zoro rolled his eye with a smile, “One of my new students actually runs the place.”

_A swordsman who owns a flower shop?_

“Really?” Sanji wouldn’t mind meeting the guy, they were probably rather interesting.

He nodded his head with a smile, “Yeah, her name’s Tashigi—she’s not a bad swordsman.”

“Wait, did you just say they’re a woman?”

“Uh, yeah…?” Zoro stared at her in confusion, “So what?”

_So what?!_

“I don’t want you spending time with so many other women…” First it was him talking with Bonney, now this? What’s next?!

Zoro lifted her chin, “Both of the other women I talked to today know I have a girlfriend named Sanji who I care very deeply for.” He kissed the tip of her nose, “You don’t think I’m the one who picked those flowers out, do you?”

Sanji was bewildered, “You didn’t?”

He scoffed, “No! Tashigi just asked me about you and came back with those.”

“Huh,” that was rather interesting, “She’s good.”

Zoro smiled, “I thought so too—at least at her job.”

_Wow, he saved himself before I could even say something—impressive._

She smiled at him and gave him a pat on the back, “Watch yourself, marimo. I’m not keen on sharing.”

A delicious smile crossed his lips, “Neither am I.”

The next thing she knew, their lips were locked and Zoro was carrying her down the hallway. Sanji barely had time to react to being tossed onto the mattress before he climbed on top of her.

As he devoured her mouth with a passionate, heated, and desperate kiss, Zoro began removing her dress, unzipping it in the back and sliding it down her body. Immediately, Sanji could feel the slick wetness in her panties and writhed in anticipation.

Zoro pulled away with a cocky smirk, _“Did my slut miss me?”_

 _“Mmmmm~ Fuck…”_ Sanji wasn’t expecting him to say such a thing and _certainly_ wasn’t expecting it to have this kind of effect—cuming on the spot.

She felt her inner walls tighten around nothing and the sensation of fluid soaking her panties.

Sanji was completely oblivious to the sounds she had been making, too delirious from the unexpected and sudden orgasm. She also hadn’t noticed Zoro leaving the bed to remove his own clothes.

When he climbed back on top of her, Zoro began kissing all her sweet spots along her neck and chest as his hands made quick work of removing her bra and underwear.

Once she was completely naked, Zoro pushed himself off her and his eye wandered over her body, “You’re beautiful, Sanji.”

It wasn’t something she was used to hearing in this kind of scenario. Sanji felt herself blush, “Shut up…”

Zoro smiled his dazzling smile that made her forget how to breathe, then spread her legs apart and began using his mouth for something useful.

 _“Uuuhhh~ Zoro!”_ She really couldn’t believe how good he was with his tongue. Sanji was panting harder with each passing moment, until finally Zoro used his fingers on her clit, _“FUCK! ZORO!”_

She was cuming again as Zoro pinched her clit between his fingers and prodded her leaking hole with his tongue. When he pulled his mouth away and kissed her, Sanji could taste her own juices on his lips.

He was lifting her into his arms as he sat between her parted thighs and positioned himself at her entrance, _“I’ve been thinking about this all damn day…”_

When he thrust himself up into her, Sanji gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck, _“Aaaahh~ Zoro…”_ Sanji squeezed his thick member and sighed, _“I missed you~”_

His rough hands were caressing her back as Zoro let her get used to his size, _“Fuck, baby~ I missed you too…”_

Sanji mewled into the crook of his neck, _“Zoro~ mmmm…”_

He began trailing kisses across her shoulder, up the side of her neck to her ear, _“I love you… So~ much!”_

As Zoro gazed into her eyes, Sanji could see something other than lust there. It was something new and unfamiliar, but she trusted Zoro with her whole heart, _“Make love to me, Zoro.”_

With her heart now pounding in her chest, Sanji was kissed by Zoro as he lowered her back to the mattress. He slowly began to move, pulling himself from inside her and pumping back in. His mouth was locked with hers, eating up every gasp or moan that came from Sanji until Zoro let her go, panting for air, _“Sanji… Fuck, I love you…”_

There were tears in her eyes, every move Zoro made was so gentle and tender, Sanji was feeling so overwhelmed by the affection.

Zoro began kissing away her tears as they silently fell down her cheeks. The steady roll of his hips never ceasing, Zoro’s hands were wandering over her breasts, tugging and teasing her nipples until they were perked up. He traced her sternum between her breasts, past her navel, and down to her clit.

Sanji instinctively bucked her hips, _“Mmmmh~”_

 _“I know, baby~”_ Zoro began to circle her clit with one of his fingers and began to suck on her neck below her ear.

Her legs began to shake as another orgasm passed through her, _“ZORO… Zoro~”_

His mouth disconnected from her neck with a loud, ‘pop!’ Sanji could feel his smile against her ear, _“You are such a good girl, Sanji…”_

 _“MMMM~ ZORO~”_ She convulsed around him from the intensity of it all.

Zoro hummed with delight as he continued to play with her clit, _“I love hearing you moan my name.”_

 _“Uuuhh~ Zoro-Zoro-Zoro!”_ Sanji’s mouth was hanging open and her eyes were squeezed shut.

He growled and sucked on her earlobe, Zoro jerked his hips and picked up his pace.

It was enough to send Sanji to the next level, she could no longer control her quivering legs as she screamed, _“FUUUCK! ZORO! FUCK! AAAHHHH~ BABY…”_

Between her moans, Sanji was gasping for air. She arched her back and gave Zoro complete control over her pleasure.

Sanji never had sex like this—with someone who meant something to her and she meant something to them. She was used to having crazy, meaningless sex with strangers—even when she was with Law, Sanji never felt very close with him.

But this was different. Zoro was different. Although he was inexperienced, Sanji had never been with a man who could make her feel _this_ good. It wasn’t just the way he focused on her instead on himself, and it didn’t matter that he was the sexiest man who has ever lived—what made being with Zoro so special was that she knew this was only the beginning.

With Zoro, it was so much more than one night of mutual attraction and horniness. Sanji knew what she had with Zoro was something special.

~~~~~~~~

Hearing Sanji chanting his name was intoxicating. Zoro didn’t even think she realized she was doing it—everything Sanji was saying had stopped making sense except for his name.

When she told him to make love to her, Zoro felt like he was being challenged. He never did this kind of thing—having sex or making love—Zoro wasn’t sure he knew how. So, he acted on instinct and instead of trying to break her body in two, he tried his best to prove he will always keep it intact.

It didn’t matter to Zoro that Sanji had been with other men, as long as he would be the last. It took him this long to find the only woman he could ever love, and Zoro loved her with his whole heart. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to make her happy and feel special—because she was the only person he had ever felt this way about.

From the moment he saw her, Zoro’s whole world had changed. He might’ve not known why at first, but now that he had figured out his feelings, he was never going to stop reminding Sanji of how much she really means to him.

She still had tears streaming down the sides of her pretty face, he knew they were happy tears and whispered, _“Sanji, I love you~ I don’t know what I’d do without you…”_ Zoro’s breathing was becoming more erratic as he felt himself getting close to his own release.

_I fucking love this woman! How did I ever live without her? She means everything to me, I can’t imagine my life without her anymore…_

Zoro captured Sanji’s lips in a passionate kiss as he thrust into her hard a few more times and came, buried deep inside her. His kiss muffled the sounds of Sanji’s moans, and Zoro enjoyed that just as much as if he could hear them. He continued the kiss as their bodies began to still and they came down from their highs.

When Zoro released her, Sanji began panting for air. The sight of her beneath him, flushed and glowing from the orgasms he’d given her, made Zoro’s chest fill with pride. He smiled down at her, “You are so beautiful.”

Sanji opened her big blue eyes and smiled, “You’re not so bad yourself, marimo~”

He rolled his eye at her, “Quite callin’ me that.”

Her smile grew wider, “No way! It suits you.”

Zoro narrowed his eye, “Fine, curly brow.”

He saw her forehead tick in irritation and her cheeks puff out, _“Hey!”_

Laughing at her reaction, Zoro kissed the center of the curl in her left eyebrow, “Payback.”

Sanji hit his shoulder playfully, “You’re a dick.” Zoro shifted his hips to remind her that his dick was still inside her and caused her to moan, _“Mmmm~ nevermind…”_

He smiled at her and shook his head, “Pervert.”

She rolled her eyes and nibbled on her lower lip seductively, “You like it.”

_Can’t deny that…_

Zoro gave her a quick kiss and smirked, “Should we take a bath?”

Sanji’s smile was contagious, “Great idea.”

Without bothering to ask if she could walk, Zoro lifted Sanji into his arms and carried her to the bathroom. As he had done when they did this before, he set her down on the toilet and turned on the hot water to fill the bath.

_Next time I talk to Nami I’m really gonna have to thank her for this bubble bath…_

He glanced over to Sanji and caught her staring at him, “What?”

Her blue eyes were shining as bright as her smile, “Nothing…”

Zoro raised his eyebrow and stalked closer to her, “Bullshit.”

She appeared to be flustered as she blushed and fumbled her words, “What? I didn’t—why do you—”

He shut her up by pressing a firm kiss on her lips, when Zoro pulled away, he murmured, “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

When Sanji opened her eyes, they were filled with hesitation, “I’m so happy I met you.”

“Fuck,” Zoro sighed in content and kissed her forehead, “Me too.”

After lifting Sanji off the toilet, he stepped into the bathtub and settled into the hot water, cradling her body against his own. Once the bath was full, Zoro turned off the water and silence crept up on them.

The only sounds were the two of them breathing and the gentle splashes of water. Zoro felt perfectly content laying there with Sanji against his chest in the hot water. He closed his eye and let the muscles in his body relax.

“Zoro?”

“Yeah, babe?” He opened his eye to see Sanji gazing up at him with a beautiful blush across her cheeks, “You okay?”

She blinked a few times and shook her head, “I’m fine~” Sanji sighed in annoyance, “Will you _please_ tell me what’s bothering you?”

_Bothering me?_

“Nothing’s bothering me, Sanji.” He didn’t understand what she was talking about.

Sanji sat up in the bathtub, her hair was still clipped up, but some of the blonde strands were sticking to her neck from the water, “I can tell that something’s made you feel tense, Zoro.” Her blue eyes were pleading with him, “Please, let me help you.”

Before he even realized it, Zoro began explaining, “I guess it’s just been a weird day—earlier this morning I felt like something was going to happen. I knew I was going to be dealing with Law today since he had a lesson, but it didn’t go how I expected… If he wasn’t so fucking drunk I would’ve beat the shit outta him for what he was saying, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

“And today was the second time I’ve been around Tashigi—it is really unnerving how much she looks like and reminds me of Kuina.” Zoro shook his head, unable to believe he was saying any of this out loud, “It’s weird, I have to keep reminding myself that she’s not really her.” He felt tears stinging in his eye, “I need to keep telling myself that she’s dead and Tashigi isn’t my sister.”

Now that he admitted it to her, Zoro was immensely calmer. Sanji ran her fingers through his hair then played with his three gold earrings, “I can’t imagine how I’d feel if I met someone who reminded me of my mother.”

He nodded his head, “Yeah, it’s been strange.”

She gave him a small smile, “Well, as long as you don’t have some kind of sister fetish I should know about, I don’t mind if you want to get to know her better.”

Zoro scoffed, “Don’t be weird!” He didn’t understand how she could say shit like that.

Sanji giggled, “You look so cute when you’re all flustered.”

He rolled his eye and pulled her back to his chest, kissing her head, Zoro mumbled, “That’s just gross.”

She turned and kissed him along his jaw, “Can you blame me for not wanting to lose you?”

“You won’t lose me,” he captured her lips, giving her a kiss for reassurance, “I’m too obsessed with you.”

Sanji smiled and teased, “So now you’re obsessed with me, eh?”

Rubbing his nose against hers, Zoro nodded his head, “I thought that was obvious~”

Her blue eyes were wide with wonder, “I love you.”

Zoro never knew hearing those three words would feel so good. He smiled back at her, “I love you too, Sanji.”

When they finished bathing, they got ready for bed together. Seeing Sanji without any make up on made Zoro want to stare at her even more, she looked even more beautiful.

The best thing about having Sanji live with him was that she wasn’t going to leave in the middle of the night and he knew she’d still be there when he woke up in the morning. It was bad enough that Zoro couldn’t see her for most of the day, if he had to give up any more time with her, he wasn’t sure he could handle it.

As he was laying in the bed they now shared, Zoro watched Sanji move around the bedroom and change into a tank top and shorts to sleep in. She had her hair down, making a wet spot on the fabric between her shoulder blades. Zoro couldn’t look away, and when Sanji caught him staring at her ass, she smiled and wiggled her hips, “You like?”

He smirked, “You know I do.” Then more seriously, he added, “Now, hurry up and get in bed.”

Sanji blushed but made her way to the bed and climbed in under the blanket. Without any prompting, she snuggled up next to him, kissing his neck, “Goodnight, marimo.”

He kissed her forehead, “Sweet dreams, Sanji.” Zoro ran his fingers through her hair and watched as she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face. His heart never felt so warm and full. It didn’t take long before he too, was falling asleep with his whole world wrapped in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Sorry this chapter took longer to write than I thought it would! I got a little stuck on the ending, but I think it turned out okay...  
> I was happy to see that people wanted to see Sanji sing again, and when I found that out I had already added the song to this chapter. I know it isn't the same as I've done in previous chapters, I wanted to focus more on the one song rather than multiple...  
> I literally listened to the song Fearless on repeat as I wrote this chapter, so that is one of the reasons why I titled this chapter that... I think that when we finally meet that special someone everything else seems to feel less scary and more manageable.   
> In this story, both Sanji and Zoro have already achieved their goals and felt stuck in the repetitiveness of their daily lives. After they meet each other, they began seeing things in a different way and change for the better. Zoro doesn't see the point in fighting a pointless battle with Law, whereas Sanji is able to let go of the things she has always been afraid of doing because she found someone she can really trust and put her faith in.
> 
> Anyway, I hope there was enough drama during the whole 'Zoro giving Law the box' situation. Considering they are both older in this story than they are in the anime/manga, I thought they would handle it more with words than actions and fighting. Adding in Law being drunk and having his own issues with Bonney made it even more unlikely for Zoro to get into some kind of physical fight with Law. If Law was still interested in being with Sanji, Zoro wouldn't hesitate to kick his ass, but since that wasn't really something he had to worry about, there was no real reason for it.
> 
> As for Tashigi being the flower shop owner--I was not planning that. I was trying to think of what character I could have run the place, and then I was like 'ah-ha!' Hopefully, no one has any major objections to this...
> 
> Okay, lastly... I am going to be starting my last semester of college this week, so I will probably not be uploading as often, but I will still try to get another chapter out as soon as possible.   
> I'm still planning on writing a chapter in Bonney's POV to give everyone a better understanding of the whole fight between her and Law as well as what it was like for her seeing Law with Sanji. I have never written anything very in-depth about Bonney's character, so that will be a challenge for me, but I'm still going to do it.  
> Also--people seemed to be very interested in a chapter in Zeff's POV, and I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to write that, but unfortunately it won't be coming for awhile since there are still some things that will need to happen before we get there... I'm really excited, like honestly I want to just tell you all what's going to happen but I can't!
> 
> Leave a comment if you have any questions or have something you'd like to see in the future. I am probably going to need a little inspiration from all you wonderful readers to get my creative juices flowing for the next chapter!  
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	14. Apologies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
> 
> This chapter switches between Bonney and Law's POV

The bell on the front door rang and Bonney put on a smile to greet the new customer to enter her restaurant. She left the kitchen and walked out to the lobby where a man with green hair and a scar over his left eye stood, “Hello! What can I get for you?”

He studied her appearance, she hoped he wasn’t some creep, then he asked, “Are you Bonney?”

_Oh god—he IS a creep! Why does he know my name? Wait. Name of the damn restaurant, Bonney. Your name is on the outside of the building._

Remembering this she smiled, “Yes, I am. Is there something you need?”

He looked around and gestured at an empty table in the corner with his head, “Do you have a moment?”

Bonney had no idea who this guy was or why he was here. What he wanted to talk about was beyond her, but there wasn’t anything about him that made her feel like he wanted trouble, so she followed him to the table and sat down across from him, “What’s this about?”

When he met her gaze, she saw his eye was gray, and he seemed exhausted as he sighed, “Law.”

Immediately, Bonney’s thoughts were flowing, and she was beginning to worry as she imagined all the horrible implications this suggested. She frantically asked, “Law? Why? Did something happen to him? Is he okay? Where is he?”

He raised his hand to silence her, “Well, that’s kinda why I’m here.” The man took a deep breath and began to explain, “He showed up at my dojo—drunk outta his mind.”

_Dojo…?_

That’s when it clicked, “Wait— _you’re_ Zoro?”

“I am,” he nodded and continued with what he came to say, “He told me what happened last night and this morning—”

“Let me guess,” she cut him off, “Law sent you here to try and get me to talk to him. Well, it’s not going to work.” Bonney sighed with resolve, “He’s an ass.”

There was a moment of silence between the until Zoro noted, “You don’t really believe that.”

Bonney furrowed her eyebrows in disgust, “What? Of course, I do! He cheated on Sanji with me and then as soon as he found out the two of you were together, he acted like I meant nothing to him!”

Zoro rolled his eye, “Yeah, he did. But he didn’t ask me to come here and talk to you. The only thing he has done is insult my girlfriend and cry like a baby about how he’ll never be able to forgive himself for hurting the woman he loves.”

_Wait, what? There is no way…_

There were so many thing Bonney needed to process, but first she had to ask, “Law… Law was crying?”

“Yeah,” Zoro sighed loudly, seeming worried, “I’ve known the guy for how many years—but I’ve never seen him like this. He isn’t himself.”

Bonney had no idea what to say. She knew it was unlike Law to drink, she knew he had been acting strange. It was just a little hard to believe that Law could really show that kind of emotion.

“Look, I don’t have any reason to help either of you—I’m not sure why I am even trying…” Zoro groaned in obvious frustration, “It’s not like I owe Law any favors, especially after what he’s done, but here I am.”

There was this nagging feeling in the back of her mind and a disgusting feeling in her stomach, she needed to know, “You said that Sanji is your girlfriend?”

“Yeah, she is.” Zoro seemed to realize how uncomfortable that made her and said, “Look, I’m not here to talk about what you two did to Sanji, okay? It’s my job to make her happy and I’ll be sure to do that. I’m here because I wanted to tell you that Law isn’t—not without you. I know that you’re hurt by what he said, but the guy clearly isn’t in his right mind when he’s been drinking. At least let him apologize.”

_Isn’t in his right mind… Law has an alcohol problem… That actually does make sense… So, he didn’t mean anything he said to me, he was just upset to see this guy with Sanji after having nightmares about it for so long…_

The only thing that Bonney was terrified might not be true is the question she willed herself to ask, “Did he really say he loves me?”

He nodded, “Yeah, he did.”

The look in his eye made her believe that Law was telling the truth, it made her feel anxious to see him and make things right, “Will you please bring me to him?”

Zoro stood from the table, “Sure, I told him to stay in the car.”

As they exited the restaurant, Zoro pointed to a car and Bonney immediately recognized the man in the front seat to be Law, only he looked far worse than usual.

Bonney ran over to him and hugged Law through the open window. It was obvious he had been crying, his eyes that were normally dull with dark-circles underneath, were red and puffy.

“B-Bonney-ya?!” He stuttered her name and she could smell alcohol on his breath. He began sobbing in her arms, “I’m so, so sorry!”

She ignored the fact he was drunk, again, and tried her best to calm him down, “Shhh, Law it’s okay… It’s okay…” In all honesty, Bonney was still trying to convince herself of that, but seeing Law like this—so broken—made her want to fix everything.

Law was taking deep breaths as she rubbed his back, “I’m so sorry, Bonney-ya…”

“I know, me too,” she kissed his cheek as she released him from her embrace and wiped the tears from his cheeks, “I’ll see you when I get home, okay?”

It seemed like he wanted to say something, but Law stayed quiet and nodded his head.

When Bonney turned back towards her restaurant, she saw Zoro patiently waiting beside the door. She walked up to him, unsure of what to say other than, “Thank you.”

He waved his hand casually, “Don’t mention it.”

_Why would he help us…? After we did that to Sanji—his girlfriend… I can’t believe it…_

Not knowing what she could possibly say, Bonney nodded her head with a gracious smile on her lips and went back to work.

The rest of the day, Bonney couldn’t help but feel anxious about when she would go home and see Law. She couldn’t stop thinking about the things he had said while he was drunk.

*Flashback*

Bonney had slept-in until ten-thirty on Sunday, not needing to work. She woke up in Law’s bedroom, like she had been doing since they first got together a few weeks ago.

Even though Law’s schedule was crazy busy, Bonney liked being able to see him in more places than the hallway outside their apartments and spent most of her time in his apartment these days.

They didn’t get to fall asleep together last night, since Law had worked the night-shift at the hospital, but Bonney didn’t mind. She finally was becoming a part of Law’s life after trying for so many years.

She got up from the bed, yawning, and walked to the bathroom for a shower.

_I can’t wait to see Law, he really seems so much happier now… Do I make him happy? For the longest time, that’s all I’ve ever wanted to do…_

Bonney blushed as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had finally lost her virginity at thirty—with the man she was in love with after he said he wanted to be with her. It was a night she would never forget, and not for the right reasons.

She couldn’t stop remembering how wonderful it felt, seeing Sanji’s crushed and defeated expression as she watched Law choose _her._ Because from the moment she first saw Sanji, she felt like she could never compete with someone _that_ beautiful.

Sanji was the typical pretty-girl who always got whatever and whoever she wanted. After she realized what kind of relationship Law and Sanji had with each other, Bonney knew she was nothing like her.

Bonney had never been with a man—period. She was never interested in having a romantic relationship because Bonney had reserved herself for someone she found deserving. She had never met anyone that sparked her interest or caught her eye, there was never anyone who made her heart skip a beat or make her stomach fill with butterflies. Or at least not until she met the tall, tattooed man who lived in the apartment across the hall.

The moment her eyes first met his pale blue ones, Bonney felt as if all the air had been taken from her lungs. He looked so incredibly sad and in desperate need of someone to talk to. She had never met someone who appeared to hate everything around them.

Despite his coldness towards her, Bonney didn’t give up trying to figure him out. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned into years—but it wasn’t until Sanji showed up that Bonney would feel an ache in her chest when she wasn’t around him. For two years she had felt like she had failed and would never be what or who Law wanted.

All that had changed as she was excitedly waiting for Law to get back from work. Bonney had dressed herself in a pair of short-shorts and one of Law’s tshirts before going to the kitchen to make herself a snack.

As soon as she was about to open the refrigerator, the door of Law’s apartment burst open and there was a bunch of noise, as if things were falling to the ground. Bonney went to the entryway to see what happened and saw Law stumbling over his feet as he made his way toward the couch, “Law? Are you alright?”

That’s when she noticed the brown paper bag in his hand with a bottle inside. Law glanced up at her there was no comfort or passion in his eyes, “Why’re you here?”

Bonney didn’t know why he was asking her something like that—she had been staying with him for the past few weeks, “I was about to make something for lunch, are you hungry?”

He rolled his eyes and nursed the bottle in his grip before saying, “No.”

Unsure what to do, Bonney took a seat on the coffee table in front of him, “Why’re you drinking? It’s barely noon…”

“Because I _fucking_ wanted to,” Law was glaring at her now.

It had been quite some time since he looked at her like that—his pale eyes cold and dark, uninviting. Bonney bit her lip nervously, “Did something happen at the hospital?”

He scoffed in irritation, “They told me to go home for a few days,” the way he said it, Bonney could tell Law was upset about it, but it wasn’t the reason he was drinking.

“Hey,” she reached for the bottle in his hand, still inside a paper bag covering the label. Law sat back on the couch and brought the bottle to his mouth, gulping it down like water. Bonney scowled, “What the fuck’s made you start drinking like this?”

She never knew Law to be a drinker, but from what she was seeing it wouldn’t surprise her if he had an alcohol problem. Just because he didn’t drink now doesn’t mean he hadn’t in the past, Bonney didn’t know what kind of person he was before she met him.

When the bottle left his lips, empty, Law stood from the couch and chucked the empty bottle towards the wall, causing it to shatter. If it weren’t for the paper bag, Bonney was sure it would’ve made a huge mess of glass. She sat frozen to the coffee table as Law turned to her with fury in his eyes, “I saw Sanji-ya and Zoro-ya making out in the middle of the goddamn rice aisle and it’s all your fucking fault that my nightmare has come true!”

All the blood drained from her face, Bonney’s limbs began to shake. Did she hear him correctly? She hadn’t realized she was holding her breath until she was gasping for air, asking, “What did you say?”

It was clearly not the right way to respond, Law was bursting at the seams as he screamed, “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! I _NEVER_ SHOULD’VE SLEPT WITH YOU! NOW MY WORST NIGHTMARE HAS COME TRUE AND IT IS ALL BECAUSE OF _YOU!”_

Her mind was spinning—her _world_ was spinning. Bonney felt like she was going to be sick. She needed to get out of there.

With her heart pounding in her chest, she stood up and bolted from his apartment, to go across the hall, grabbing her keys on the way. She unlocked the door at lightning speed and slammed it shut behind her, turning the locks once more.

Falling to her knees, Bonney stared at the floor and burst into tears.

Wave after wave of overpowering emotions flooded her mind and body. Never in her life had Bonney felt so broken and betrayed. She thought Law cared about _her_ , not Sanji, but she was wrong.

She felt regret for what she had shared with him, what she had given him. Bonney had believed him and trusted him—she thought she knew him—but she was mistaken. The Law she knew didn’t treat her like this—not even before they got to know each other. He was a completely different person, he was scary and mean, there was no compassion in him.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The moment Bonney left his apartment, Law lost all his self-control and began breaking everything he could find throughout his apartment in his fury.

He was angry.

Angry at himself.

Angry about the situation he found himself in.

But most of all he was angry because he was weak.

Seven years.

That’s how long he had been sober but seeing Sanji with Zoro was too much and made him break.

And he didn’t even care about Sanji.

The only person he cared about—the only person who cared about him—had ran from him in fear.

Law hated the person he became when he drank. He was mean and angry, didn’t know how to deal with his problems and blamed them on others.

However, he was already drunk, so what was a few more? He already set the other bottles of liquor down at the door when he arrived, so he wandered back and opened the second bottle of rum he had bought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

When morning came, and Bonney woke up in her own bedroom, she frowned as she let the memories of the previous night flood her mind.

_Law…_

She resisted the urge to cry, not wanting to waste more tears on a man who could be so cold and heartless.

As she was getting ready for her day, there was a knock on the door, so she yelled, “Hang on!”

Bonney made her way to the front door to see who was there. She opened it with a smile on her face, but as soon as she saw Law, looking smug, she frowned, “What the hell are you doing here?”

The asshole had the audacity to look surprised, “Huh? I was going to get a coffee, wanted to see if you’d join me. Why didn’t you sleep over last night?”

“Fuck off, Law!” Bonney was _not_ in the mood for this.

She tried to slam the door, but Law held it open with his arm and stared at her incredulously, “Hey, what’s the matter?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe I don’t want to see the asshole who thinks he can just fuck with people’s feelings and make them regret ever getting close to them in the first place?” Bonney couldn’t remember the last time she was this pissed off at someone.

“Bonney-ya, you’re freaking me out—seriously tell me what’s up.” Law looked like a deer in the headlights, as if Bonney was going to tear him to pieces.

She totally wanted to, “You’re a selfish prick, Law!” She decided to kick him in the balls.

Seeing him fall to the floor in the hallway was extremely satisfying before Bonney slammed her door shut.

She leaned her back against the door as she tried to calm down from the unwanted encounter. Bonney could hear him groaning in agony from the kick she gave him, that was rather satisfying, but then she heard him stand up and knock on the door again, “Go away!”

“Not until you tell me what happened. I don’t remember a damn thing about last night—the last thing I remember was going to the liquor store and getting rum.” He sounded desperate, so confused and unlike himself, it surprised her, “Bonney~, please open up! I was fucking wasted—I’m sorry, please just talk to me!”

_Goddamnit, I have to at least tell him what happened._

She opened the door and let Law step inside, “Thank you.”

Bonney groaned, “Let’s just get this over with, okay?”

Law stared at her in confusion until he said, “Uh, yeah, okay.”

“Alright, so,” she pursed her lips and nervously played with her hands, unable to look him in the eyes, “You told me,” she gave him her best ‘Law’ impression as she repeated his words, “‘I saw Sanji-ya and Zoro-ya making out in the middle of the goddamn rice aisle and it’s all your fucking fault that my nightmare has come true!’”

She could feel the tears filling her eyes as she spoke those words out loud. It took everything in her to keep it together, at least long enough for her to get Law to leave. He began to speak, “Bonney-ya, I am so so—”

“Don’t.” She held her hand up, then pointed to the door, “Get out.”

“Bonney, please, I was drunk! I didn’t mean it! I was angry, and I took it out on you and I’m sorry!” His voice was pleading, Law was trying to fix things. When she met his gaze, Bonney glared at him with all the hurt and anger he had caused her. She could tell he was getting desperate when he said, “Bonney, I love you.”

That’s when she lost it.

She barred her teeth and snarled, _“Shut up!”_ Bonney was angry before, now she was _irate_ , a loose cannon, “You don’t _love_ me! You don’t love _anything!_ All you do is you take advantage of people that care about you and use them to get what you want!”

Law stared at her as if he was seeing her for the first time, he looked like he wanted to say something, but Bonney didn’t let him. She opened the door and glared at him, “Now get the fuck out—I don’t want to see you anymore!”

*End Flashback*

When Bonney arrived back at her apartment building, she walked down the hallway that led to her place but stopped in front of Law’s door. She took a breath to calm her nerves before reaching out to try turning the doorknob. When she found it to be open, and let herself in.

~~~~~~~~~

Law felt like shit all day. After Zoro had left he cleaned up his apartment and did his best to sober up by drinking water and eating some rice crackers since it was one of the few things he had to eat at the moment.

He was waiting for Bonney to come home, like she promised. There were so many things he wanted to apologize for, but more importantly he wanted to tell her how much she really means to him.

When the door opened, and Bonney walked inside, Law hurried to her and without warning, wrapped his arms around her for a hug.

In his arms, Bonney relaxed, and Law had never felt so happy in his life, “Bonney-ya, I’m so glad you are home.” Law inhaled her scent, doughy from work—normally he hated bread and anything that had to do with it, but he loved the way it smelled on Bonney.

Her arms encircled his waist and Bonney sighed, “I’m sorry.”

_Hold on…_

“No.” Law shook his head and placed his hands on Bonney’s shoulders, holding her at arm’s length as he said, “Don’t you _dare_ apologize to me. You didn’t do anything wrong— _I’m_ the one who needs to apologize. I _hurt_ you, Bonney—I’ve hurt a lot of people, but I never wanted to hurt you.”

She stared at him, eyes wide, as if she couldn’t believe what he was saying.

As he gazed into Bonney’s purple eyes, Law tried to convey that he was serious, “When you left last night, I lost it—I broke _everything_ in this apartment.” He chuckled at his own pathetic, drunken behavior, “I realized how much of a fucking idiot I was and got angry at myself. I _never_ should’ve blamed you, I don’t care about anyone like I care about you. I’m _in love_ with you.”

Bonney’s eyes were flooded with tears as her lower lip jutted out and she began to hold back whimpers, “L-Law…”

He pulled her back to his chest, kissing the top of her head as she cried in his arms, “I love you, Bonney. You make me want to be better and change for the better. I’m done living in the past, I want to focus on what a future with you could be like.”

The woman he was holding in his arms was special to him. It took him way too long to realize it, but Bonney was the only one Law felt like he could feel this way about. Wiping the tears from her cheeks was something he wouldn’t hesitate to do, especially if he was the reason for them being there.

“God, I’m such a fucking idiot…” But Law didn’t feel like it was enough, “I’m really sorry about what I said—I didn’t mean it—fuck! Bonney-ya, I—I can’t lose you, too.”

Because Law had already lost so many important people in his life. He never wanted to get close to people because of the inevitable fact they would all leave or die someday.

But it wasn’t death that Law was afraid of losing Bonney to—it was his himself and his darkness. He was terrified that he might finally drive away the one person he could talk to about his problems, the only one to give a damn about him that wasn’t buried in a grave.

And she knows this. Bonney knows about his nightmares—the ones he would have before Sanji, the ones about his parents and sister, his uncles. He was glad he didn’t have those anymore, but Law knew that the only person he felt like he could talk about them with was Bonney.

Law hadn’t realized he was hyperventilating until Bonney forced him to sit down on the couch, “I’ll get you a glass of water.”

When she returned, Law took a few slow, heavy gulps of the refreshing liquid before setting the glass down on a coaster on top of the coffee table, “Thanks.”

Bonney sat down beside him with a small smile across her lips, “You’re welcome.”

He couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to grab her fidgeting hands, “Hey,” Law gazed into her eyes to try and gauge her emotions, “I want to fix things between us,” he paused, “If you’ll let me.”

~~~~~~~~

Initially, Bonney wasn’t sure what to say—she thought they already had fixed things. She frowned at him, “But Law, there isn’t anything else you have to—”

“Bonney.”

It startled her to hear him say her name, “What?”

Law’s eyes were dark and intense as they gazed into hers, “Let me show you how much you really mean to me.” He had leaned closer to her face without her realizing and breathed across her lips, “Let me make love to you—like you deserve.”

“Okay,” was the only word that rolled off her tongue before Law was devouring it with his own.

Bonney was still getting used to being intimate with someone, afterall she had spent most of her life as a virgin and never really had a boyfriend before. But she found herself craving Law’s touch, to feel his long fingers caress her body, his hot mouth on something other than her own.

She moaned softly into the kiss as her hands rested against his chest, feeling his heart pounding underneath. As she broke away for air, Bonney moaned, _“Ohh, Law~”_

 _“Fuck Bonney~”_ His breath was against her neck as Law began planting kisses along her throat.

They were still on the couch, and as much as she wanted this, she wanted it on the bed, “Law, let’s go to the bedroom.”

In the next few moments, Bonney found herself being picked up from the couch and carried to the bedroom by Law.

He set her down gently, then proceeded to climb on top of her, his lips still trailing kisses across the exposed skin of her collar. Bonney hadn’t realized his hands were moving down her body until they were between her legs, _“Uuuhh~ Law!”_

The tattooed man hummed against her skin in delight before sitting up and staring down at her lustfully, _“Shit Bonney…_ I can’t get over how _sensitive_ you are…”

When he pushed against her clit through her pants, Bonney closed her eyes and moaned again, _“Law~”_

She didn’t pay attention to her clothes being taken off or Law’s—the only thing on Bonney’s mind was being reunited with Law intimately.

Once she was laying naked beneath him, there was no doubt in her mind, Bonney knew Law was the one she wanted to be with, the only one.

 _“Law…”_ Her voice was so needy and unlike herself, _“I want you so bad.”_

 _“Fuck.”_ Judging by his exasperated tone of voice, Bonney would guess Law was feeling the same way.

Bonney spread her legs apart and pulled Law’s body to hers, so he fell against her chest. She could feel he still had his own clothes on and began to tug on his shirt, _“Lawww~”_

A low growl came from Law’s throat as he hopped off the bed. When Bonney opened her eyes, she saw he was undressing himself and barely caught a glimpse at his erection before he was back on top of her, pushing it between her legs.

 _“AAAAAHH~!”_ She felt all of Law’s length inside of her, it was such an unfamiliar feeling, but it felt _really amazing._

Law began to move in and out of her, his own expression becoming more and more delirious the louder her moans were. Bonney enjoyed watching as Law’s eyes darkened with lust and passion—for her nonetheless.

 _“UUUHHH~ LAW! HARDER!”_ Bonney was beginning to feel some sort of heat building-up inside of her.

In a split-second, Bonney was flipped onto her front, ass in the air and Law rammed inside of her with such force it caused her to scream.

Not in pain, but pleasure—incredible, indescribable pleasure.

_“OH FUCK! LAW! LAW! LAW! LAW! FUCK! OH FUCK! FUCK!”_

Law kept pounding away, harder with every thrust, _“That’s right, cum for me Bonney.”_

She couldn’t stop cumming, even if she wanted to—and Bonney really, _really_ didn’t want to. _“OHH~ FUCK! LAW, DON’T STOP! LAW! PLEASE~”_

Bonney felt Law’s grip on her hips tighten and he began to pick up speed. It was unlike anything they had done before, all the other times they’d had sex, Law treated her like glass.

Before she knew it, she found herself pushing back, meeting his thrusts, wanting to feel _more._

 _“Shit…”_ Law mumbled and further tightened his grip.

Tilting her head back, Bonney could see his eyebrows were pulled together as his mouth hung half-open, panting. Then their eyes locked, and Bonney felt her insides melt from the hot look he gave her and cried out in ecstacy, _“LAW I LOVE YOU!”_

There was only a string of garbled sounds of incoherent words from Law as he slammed himself inside her one final time and stilled.

For a few moments all they did was catch their breath. Then Law pulled himself out and collapsed beside her and wrapped his arms around her, “I love you too.”

Bonney felt like she should be embarrassed—she yelled ‘I love you’ during sex. But hearing Law say them back made her _so_ happy.

She nuzzled herself closer to his chest, “Do I make you happy?”

It was something that had been nagging her in the back of her mind ever since their fight. Bonney wasn’t sure why, but she felt like she could ask him now.

Law shifted so he could gaze down at her and cupped her cheek in his tattooed hand. His pale blue eyes were so gentle, Bonney felt like she could gaze into them for eternity.

His smile was true and genuine as he spoke softly, “Happier than I ever thought was possible.”

That answer surprised her, “Really? Why?”

“You… You _care_ about me. You tried to get to know me—seemed to think I needed someone to be there for me.” He looked away and cleared his throat, “And I _do._ ”

Bonney stayed silent, she felt like he had more to say and didn’t want to make him feel rushed by speaking.

When Law met her eyes once again, he smiled at her and caressed her cheek, “I don’t know what you see in me, Bonney-ya, but I really feel honored to be with you.”

She couldn’t stop the blush from creeping up her cheeks, how embarrassing…

“You know me better than anyone. I don’t want to fuck this up—I already almost did.” Law sighed in frustration, “All the people I’ve ever cared about died tragically. You were there for me whenever I had a nightmare, reliving those memories. I don’t know why I was with Sanji-ya, she didn’t mean anything to me. I was just surprised to see her with Zoro-ya—especially after dreaming about them together for so long. I felt like I was being mocked, I wondered it they had been sleeping with each other when her and I were still together—even though I knew they only met a week or so ago. Fuck, I’m rambling…anyway, I didn’t want to _think_ and so I got myself booze—even though I hate the man I turn into when I drink.”

There was so much information for Bonney to process, luckily she felt very calm after orgasming and was able to smile at him, “I know you don’t usually drink. I was surprised to see you like that…” Bonney tried to think of the right words to say and settled with, “If it makes it easier for you, I could give up drinking alcohol, so it isn’t around.”

Law clenched his jaw and looked away, “I don’t want you to sacrifice anything for my sake.”

Bonney furrowed her eyebrows, “It wouldn’t be a sacrifice, Law. I don’t even drink that often, usually only if I go out.”

He seemed to study her face for a moment before sighing, “Okay.”

She smiled to herself and leaned forward to kiss Law’s nose, “I’ve been in love with you for a very long time.”

~~~~~~~

Bonney’s words cut through him like a sword.

_‘I’ve been in love with you for a very long time.’_

He knew this now—that Bonney had loved him for years, maybe even before he was with Sanji. It was shitty as fuck to know he could’ve had _this_ sooner if only he wasn’t so…

“Bonney, we’ve known each other for _six years._ Lived across the hallway from one another.” More than anything, Law was desperate to know, “How much time has been wasted because I was too dumb to realize this sooner?”

_Fuck, how could I not realise how beautiful her eyes are?_

“Law,” his name sounded so sweet coming from her lips, “I thought you said you were done living in the past,” it wasn’t a question, “All that matters is I love you, and I will stay if you really love me too.”

He felt his mouth curl up into a smile, “I love you. I _really_ love you. I love you more than I hate bread.”

_And that smile, fuck—that smile is gorgeous._

“You _hate_ bread.”

Law smiled, he was so incredibly happy, “I know, but I _love_ you.”

_When she blushes like that I can’t believe I never noticed…_

“I love you, Law.” Again, the smile she wore was just… _perfect._ “I love you and I’m not going anywhere.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I have finally updated!  
> This chapter isn't as long as others, I mostly was just not super interested in writing much for Law and Bonney because this is first and foremost a ZoSan story, but I felt it is crucial to my plot, so yeah. :P  
> However, that being said, I will most likely be posting the next chapter fairly soon, because I started writing it already and it is already filled with fluffy and smutty goodness ;)
> 
> School has been shitty, I'd honestly rather spend all my time reading and writing fanfic, but I am three classes away from graduating so I gotta persevere, right? Ugh, it sucks having S.A.D. and live in the mid-west. The weather here has been fucking terrible this winter.
> 
> Anyway, leave a comment and let me know what you thought of this chapter, I am curious if anyone enjoys the Law/Bonney and if I should keep adding them or if I should keep it minimal.  
> Let me know your thoughts, I love the feedback!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	15. Hickeys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.  
> This chapter contains lemons ;)

Zoro was woken up by the feeling of something, or someone, softly touching his neck.

Normally, this would have him in a panic and reaching for his swords—thinking someone might be trying to assassinate him in his sleep—but he recognized the smaller body pressed against him to be Sanji.

Humming at the pleasant awakening, Zoro wrapped his arms around Sanji’s waist to pull her closer against his chest.

The action must’ve surprised the blonde, however, because she made a noise that Zoro could only classify as a squeal and her body tensed in his arms.

Sanji turned her head to face him, her hair was disheveled and covered her right eye, but her left one was wide open and shining as it gazed into his.

With a smirk on his lips, Zoro grunted, “Why’d you stop?”

She blinked up at him and a blush crept onto her cheeks, “I-I wasn’t doing anything!”

Zoro rolled his eye, “I know you were kissing my neck, Sanji…” Seeing her pale skin become flushed was driving his mind crazy.

_Fuck, she looks so damn adorable right now… She really doesn’t want to admit she was kissing me—but why is she so embarrassed? I really didn’t mind it…_

“I thought you were sleeping…” her voice was a soft whisper, “I’m sorry I woke you up.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he gave her a reassuring smile, “But since we’re both awake…” Zoro flipped Sanji onto her back then put his hands on either side of her face, capturing her lips with his own.

The kiss was hot and needy, Zoro couldn’t stop himself from pressing his erection against her groin causing her to break away and gasp, _“Zoro!”_

Pride filled his chest from hearing the arousal in her voice while saying his name. His eye rolled to the back of his head and he groaned in pleasure, _“Fuck, Sanji~ what’re you doing to me?”_

Her blonde hair was glistening under the moonlight that shone through the windows of the bedroom. The long strands splayed around her like a halo, her bangs were pushed aside during their kiss, exposing both her big, blue eyes and curly eyebrows. Her creamy, pale skin looked like porcelain despite it being covered in hickeys, and his eye spotted the marks he made on her shoulder from sinking his teeth into her flesh. She wore a small tank top and shorts to bed, but he quickly found they left little to the imagination when it came to what was hidden underneath.

Even though the lighting was minimal, Zoro could tell that not only were Sanji’s cheeks flushed, but her neck and chest were as well. He caught her nibbling on her lower lip and teased, “What’s the matter curly brow? Got your panties in a knot?”

Sanji opened her mouth to speak, but Zoro immediately came down to meet her parted lips for another kiss. He felt her frustration in him crumble as he twirled and rubbed his tongue against her own. Zoro shifted his weight to his legs as he moved his hands from the sides of her head, down to cup her sex in the palm of his hand through her shorts.

This action earned him a garbled moan into his mouth and Zoro also realized that Sanji was already wet. And she was _not_ wearing panties.

She bucked her hips against his hand, Sanji reached out her hands to tangle her fingers in his green hair. Eventually she was able to get a good enough grip to pull him away, gasping for air then furrowed her brow to scold him, “Fucking _asshole!”_

Zoro raised his eyebrow, smirking he teased, “You want me to fuck you _there?”_

Sanji’s eyes were wide and filled with rage, her skin becoming more and more flushed, “What?! NO! You—you goddamn-moss-brained-dumbass!”

It took all his will-power to ignore her ridiculous insult and be the adult. Zoro sat up on the bed, letting her go and sincerely asked, “What’s wrong?”

He watched as her face fell and guilt rushed into her eyes, Sanji bolted upright and kneeled beside him on the bed, placing her small hand on his shoulder, “Nothing’s wrong! It’s just—you are so _fucking infuriating sometimes!”_ Sanji groaned loudly and rubbed at her temples with her hand that was not currently resting on his bare shoulder, warming his skin.

Zoro couldn’t think of what to do other than retort back, “Well you can be _just as much!”_ He then closed his eye and sighed, “But I like that about you.”

When he opened it, Zoro saw Sanji was staring at him wide-eyed and open-mouthed. As he met her gaze, Sanji closed her mouth and cleared her throat, “I like that about you, too—so where does that leave us?”

He cocked his eyebrow at her and glanced down to her parted lips, licking his own in the process. Zoro turned so he was facing her and cupped her cheek in his hand, “No matter how terrible you are at saying it, I know your body answers to my touch and mine to yours.”

The following kiss was deep and possessive. Zoro realized his obsession with Sanji might not exactly be healthy—he didn’t know what the hell to call it other than being in love—but he didn’t care. Being with Sanji made him feel _alive._ He could feel the way her body craved to be touched by him, _loved_ by him.

Their lips broke apart and Sanji whined, “No~ don’t go~”

Chuckling against her lips, Zoro pressed their foreheads together and opened his eye, “I really fucking love you.”

Sanji’s eyes snapped open, they were a sparkling blue in the moonlight, a mixture of shock and adoration hidden within as she slowly whispered, “I love you too.”

Zoro was taken by surprise to hear Sanji say it back, he couldn’t stop the stupid grin that spread across his face and he certainly couldn’t hide it. Lucky for him, Sanji gifted him with a smile and he was positive hers was much prettier than his own. It gave him that strange feeling in his stomach that left him feeling _light_.

The sound of Sanji’s laughter made his heart pound, “Don’t die on me now, marimo~”

He smirked at her comment, realizing he was spacing out, “I’m fine, curly brow.”

Sanji pouted her lips at the nickname, “Why do you call me that?”

“Why do you call me ‘marimo?’” He asked back.

Narrowing her gaze and pouting her lips even further, Sanji instead groaned, “You’re driving me _fucking crazy!”_

Gritting his teeth, Zoro fought the urge to shout something back. He couldn’t say something and risk hurting Sanji, so he settled for staying quiet and attempted to move away.

But Sanji suddenly threw her arms around his neck and pulled him back for a needy kiss.

With his heart pounding in his chest, Zoro returned the kiss and gently brushed the back of his hand against her cheek.

Sanji whimpered as their lips parted and he gazed into her hazy blue eyes, “I want you, Zoro.”

He didn’t even think as he told her, “You can have all of me.”

 _Fuck… And she thinks_ I _drive_ her _crazy…_

And the way her eyes shone as she smiled at him was all he needed in return.

The kissing was nice too.

When her mouth left his, Sanji continued to kiss him—the corner of his lips, the hallow of his cheek, to his chiseled jaw. As she kissed the fleshy part of his throat, Zoro moaned and moved his head to the side, giving Sanji better access to his neck.

He could feel Sanji’s hot breath against his skin as she presumably chuckled at his previous action. Zoro didn’t give a fuck though, and Sanji continued to kiss down his neck, reaching his Adam’s apple.

Sanji opened her mouth against his throat and began to suck—hard. He groaned at the feeling, which seemed to encourage Sanji to suck harder.

Her mouth disconnected from his throat with a loud ‘pop’ and he felt her tongue move against his skin to his earrings, “Payback for all the hickeys you’ve given me.”

_Jokes on her—that was fucking sexy!_

Zoro grinned, glad that Sanji couldn’t see it with her face buried into the crook of his neck.

Then she began to suck his skin again, causing Zoro to moan, _“Sanji~”_

She pushed his shoulders until he fell on his back, farther up the bed. Sanji’s thighs were on either side of his body, effectively straddling him. The devilish smile across her lips excited Zoro even further.

Over the next few minutes, Sanji effectively covered his upper body in hickeys.

Truthfully, Zoro gave no fucks about it. He was happy as can be, feeling Sanji’s mouth suck on the sensitive parts of his body. Oddly enough, most of them were places he also had scars.

When Sanji was satisfied, she returned her lips to his own to whisper, “You’re not the only one who gets to be possessive.”

As she kissed him with determination, need, and desire—Zoro returned the gesture and tried to express how much he agreed with that statement.

His arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her close, deepening the kiss. Zoro’s hands then wandered lower to her round, thick ass and slipped his fingers underneath the fabric of her shorts.

Sanji moaned into the kiss and pressed her hips against his erection, causing Zoro to groan and tighten his grip. She broke away from the kiss and bit her lower lip as she closed her eyes, softly moaning, _“You are so fucking sexy, Zoro…”_

He never really cared much about his looks or appearance—not thinking it mattered—but hearing Sanji’s approval made him incredibly happy. He wanted to bang on his chest in triumph.

Zoro opened his eye and grinned at the woman on top of him, to purr, _“So are you~”_

Her eyes were half-lidded as she studied him silently, Sanji then pushed herself up so she was sitting directly on his erection. Zoro groaned and tightened his grip on her ass, which went ignored by Sanji as her fingers gripped the bottom of her tank top and lifted it over her head.

Right before his eyes were Sanji’s breasts, her hard, pink nipples stood out from the otherwise pale skin. In the next instant he had one in his mouth and was softly sucking as his tongue moved across her nipple.

A loud, lewd moan came from Sanji, she didn’t pull away, instead moved her hands down his chest to the top of his boxers. He shifted up his hips, so she could pull them down and immediately felt relief in his erection.

Zoro began tugging on the shorts at Sanji’s hips, helping her slip out of them until they were both naked.

Seeing as Sanji had been taking the lead thus far, Zoro continued to let her and patiently watched as she adjusted herself over his dick. When she sunk herself onto him, his hands immediately went back to her ass, needing to keep some control over the situation.

The feeling of being inside her was almost enough to make him cum on the spot, but he held back the urge and thankfully, Sanji didn’t try to milk it out of him. Instead, she positioned herself, so she was squatting and shot him a sinful grin, _“You ready for a ride, Zoro~?”_

Before he had time to answer her question, even nod, Sanji began to move herself up and down over his throbbing erection.

He could feel how much raw power her legs held with every move she made. Zoro kept the grip on her ass firm, but ultimately gave all control over to Sanji as she rode his dick. The way she was squeezing around him combined with the sheer force of her movements, Zoro found himself breaking apart.

 _“FUCK! SANJI! BABY!”_ The tight coil deep within his belly was about to break, Zoro opened his eye only for it to roll back in his head from the sight before him.

Sanji’s mouth was open, her eyes closed in ecstasy, her breasts bouncing against her chest as her hips grinded against his.

Unable to voice a warning, Zoro came inside her only with her name on his lips, _“SANJI!!!”_

A moment later he felt Sanji’s hands against his chest as she screamed, _“FUCK! ZORO~!”_

Her legs were shaking, but Sanji continued to buck her hips and moan for a few moments until she collapsed on top of him, panting.

Zoro pulled her into a more comfortable position across his chest and wrapped his arms around her. He nuzzled the top of her head and kissed her there, “Amazing.”

“Huh?” She looked up at him in confusion, breathing still heavy.

_I thought she was smarter than that…_

Rolling his eye, he resisted the urge to tease her and simply said, “That was amazing.”

“Oh,” a smile formed on her lips, “I’m surprised you didn’t take over.”

He hummed thoughtfully, “I wanted to see what you could do with those legs.”

Sanji chuckled lightly against his throat, “Impressed?”

Zoro smiled, “Nah,” but before she had time to protest he added, “I always knew they were strong.”

Instead of her becoming furious with him, she was effectively silenced and left embarrassed by his compliment.

_I could really get used to this…_

Eventually Sanji huffed in defeat, but she didn’t seem to be too bitter about it because she continued to lay naked against his chest.

Zoro certainly didn’t mind.

In fact, they both ended up drifting back to sleep, content from just being in the presence of the other.

The next time Zoro awoke, the bed was empty next to him. For the briefest of moments, Zoro was worried that Sanji was gone, but then he heard noise coming from outside the bedroom.

Still groggy from sleep, he climbed out of bed and walked down the hallway to the kitchen.

As expected, Sanji was there beginning to make breakfast. Since she hadn’t noticed him yet, Zoro took the opportunity to watch her work.

_She really is amazing…_

The way Sanji moved a knife with such practiced ease was hypnotizing. It made him wonder if Sanji was any good with a sword.

_She’s good with MY sword… Fuck!_

Zoro groaned, closing his eye in irritation. He was having some serious issues with keeping his thoughts and urges under control around Sanji.

“Good morning,” her voice cut through the otherwise silent atmosphere, “How’d you sleep?”

When he opened his eye again, Zoro was momentarily left speechless, unable to form any coherent thoughts—let alone a sentence—when she was smiling at him like that.

_Holy fucking shit…_

Sanji’s long, blonde hair was in a messy bun atop her head, her bangs clipped to the side, exposing both of her gorgeous blue eyes. She was completely bare of makeup or any fancy outfits, opting instead for the tank top and shorts she had worn to bed.

_She must’ve put them back on when she got up…_

“Zoro?”

The way his name sounded coming from her lips caused Zoro to focus his attention back to Sanji, “Uhhh… Good.”

Her laughter is what actually got him to return to reality and realize what was happening, “Babe, I asked why you’re naked.”

Zoro remembered they had both fallen back asleep when they were naked then he looked down at his body, “Shit—I forgot—”

In his befuddled state, Zoro didn’t realize Sanji was walking towards him until her lips pressed against his own. He wrapped his arms around her, not caring he was currently standing in the kitchen while nude and retuned the kiss.

When Sanji broke away, Zoro could feel her smile against his lips, “You look _sooo~_ sexy…”

He couldn’t stop the low growl that came from his throat as he captured her lips once more and held her face in his hands.

Sanji moaned into the kiss and Zoro felt her fingertips trailing over the expanse of his chest, over his muscles and across his scar. Then she took hold of his throbbing erection and Zoro gasped, _“Sanji!”_

As he opened his eye, Zoro was met with a smug and seductive grin from his girlfriend, her blue eyes full of life and fire, “So sensitive…”

He felt her drag a finger over his head, across his opening, _“Tsss!”_

The sound of Sanjis’ rich, full laughter was taunting him as she teased, “See? You don’t know how to handle being touched like this, do you?”

She squeezed his erection harder in her hand, causing Zoro to groan, “I can handle it,” through clenched teeth.

Sanji hummed, thoughtfully, leaning against him suggestively, “Are you sure you can handle _me,_ Zoro?”

His eye snapped open and he gazed into her eyes with determination, “I can handle you.”

There was a challenging look in her eyes as she whispered across his lips, “Prove it.”

A low growl escaped his throat and he reached his hand up to grip Sanji’s throat, “Don’t. Test. Me.”

The moan that came from Sanji was unexpected to say the least, but what he was _really_ surprised by was Sanji leaning into his hand, _“Mmmmh… Choke me, Zoro~”_

“Fuck. What?” He pulled his hands back to his sides, shaking, “I’m not gonna choke you—why would I do that?”

Her big, blue eyes were staring up at him in confusion. Sanji looked like she was considering what he had said, giving it thought, before she turned away, “You should go get dressed.”

Zoro wasn’t sure what he should do in this situation.

There was a big part of him that wanted to stay and argue with Sanji, berate her until she told him what he wanted to know. However, he respected Sanji too much—hence why he didn’t want to choke her.

So, he took a step back, “Okay.” Zoro turned back down the hallway to do what he thought was the right thing—listen.

_Is that another kink of hers? Getting choked? I don’t think I can do that… I don’t want to accidentally hurt her… What if my hand left a mark on her neck?_

Since he was going to be working out, Zoro put on a fresh pair of boxers and some sweatpants, he didn’t bother with a shirt.

When he went back out to the kitchen, Sanji was finishing up breakfast, some kind of fancy toast. Zoro didn’t dare say anything, he was too worried that Sanji was going to be mad at him as is.

He took a seat at the dinner table and awkwardly waited for Sanji to come join him. As she put his plate down in front of him with a glass of orange juice, Sanji walked back into the kitchen.

Zoro sighed loudly, “Are you mad at me?”

She came back to the table with her own breakfast and sat down, only to whisper back, “Are _you_ mad at _me?”_

Their eyes met and Zoro could see how nervous and worried Sanji was about this. He gently smiled at her, “No, I’m not mad.”

Sanji’s cheeks became flushed and she looked away, “I’m sorry I asked you to do that…”

“Hey,” Zoro reached across the table to grab her hand, “It’s okay. I just… I don’t want to hurt you.”

Meeting his gaze, the corners of Sanji’s mouth curled up into a smile, “I know… It’s fine, you don’t have to… Let’s just eat.”

Zoro pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, “I love you.”

No matter how many times he sees Sanji blush, Zoro was positive he would never get tired of it. He didn’t think he could ever get tired of anything about Sanji—she was unique and exciting. There was never a dull moment when he was with her—how could he get tired of someone who makes him feel so happy?

And that smile she gave him… _That_ was breathtaking.

“I love you too, Zoro.”

For a moment, he forgot all about breakfast, all about the awkwardness around them, all about _everything._ Zoro stood up from the table and stepped closer to Sanji. He grabbed her face in his hands and smashed his mouth onto hers, devouring her with a kiss.

There was nothing— _NOTHING—_ better than hearing Sanji say those words. He needed her to know how much it meant to him.

As he pulled away, opening his eye, Zoro noticed Sanji still had hers closed and her lips were slightly parted—as if waiting for more.

He smiled to himself as he turned and sat back down, digging-in to the breakfast Sanji had made. After a few bites, he took a sip of orange juice and turned back to his girlfriend, who hadn’t moved a muscle.

Zoro chuckled to himself, “Babe, aren’t you gonna eat?”

Sanji opened her eyes to face him, “You are unbelievable.”

Raising his eyebrow in amusement, Zoro smirked, “Oh yeah? Well, there’s more where that came from.” He couldn’t resist winking, it didn’t matter that he only had one eye.

That beautiful blush came creeping back up her cheeks as she began to pout, “Fucking moss-brained asshole.”

He tilted his head to the side as he continued eating a piece of toast, “Where is this coming from?”

Sanji glared at him but stayed quiet—probably for the best—and began to eat her breakfast.

It was five in the morning when they finished eating and headed to the kitchen with their dirty dishes.

“I got it,” Sanji tried pushing him away as she took his dishes.

“At least let me dry them.” There was no way he was going to let Sanji do _all_ the chores around the house, no matter how much she acted like it wasn’t a big deal.

Thankfully, she didn’t argue and handed him the first plate she finished washing without a word.

Thirty minutes later, the kitchen was clean—far cleaner than Zoro ever expected it to be, but Sanji _is_ a professional chef, so…this was his life now.

She had a delighted smile on her face, Sanji looked satisfied with the area, “Great!” Clasping her hands together, she turned to him, “I’m going to go get ready for work.”

Zoro reluctantly nodded his head, “I’ll be downstairs.”

As he was turning to walk away, Sanji grabbed his hand and caught his attention, “Kiss me.”

Not needing to be told twice, Zoro pulled on Sanji’s hand until her body was in his arms, against his chest. He kissed her enthusiastically, expressing more than words could ever say. There was nothing more important to him than this woman, no one as special.

When the kiss ended, they both were left panting from the thrill. As Zoro caught Sanji’s eye, he felt his self-control begin to slip.

She looked like she desperately wanted him to fuck her.

He closed is eye, “Fuck, Sanj.”

Her breath caught in her throat, _“What’d you just call me?”_

Zoro’s eye snapped back open and his chest filled with a hot, burning fire from the steamy look in Sanji’s eyes. He gulped, “Sanj…”

One of the loudest, lewdest, moans he had ever heard came from the woman he was absolutely smitten with. Zoro felt himself blush, he felt embarrassed that a nickname could have _this_ effect on her.

Sanji didn’t seem to care, she actually shoved her hand down the front of his pants and began to fondle his semi-erect member.

He groaned from the sudden contact, _“Shit…”_ Zoro felt his heart pounding against his chest, he was getting _really_ turned-on by the look in her eyes alone. So, when she began to touch him, it didn’t take long for him to grow a massive erection.

From the satisfied glint in her eyes, Zoro could tell that Sanji was pleased with herself. But Zoro wanted her to be pleased with _him._

Zoro pushed her down to her knees in front of him, with little resistance from Sanji, He pulled down his pants enough to free his erection and laced his fingers through Sanji’s hair, “How about I choke you with this, hm?”

Before she had the chance to respond, Zoro pushed his cock into her mouth, farther down her throat until he felt her gag. Then he pulled her head back with one hand, while the other was gripping his erection.

As she was gasping for air, Zoro felt his dick twitch in his hand, _“Hmmm~ I can see why you like this, Sanj~”_

He pushed himself back down her throat and let her gag around his cock a bit longer this time. It was probably a little fucked-up of him to be getting _this_ turned-on by choking his girlfriend as he shoved his dick down her throat, but Sanji seemed to _like_ it.

When he pulled her head back, Sanji was coughing and heaving. He held back the urge to stop and ask her if she was really okay, Zoro knew it would only piss her off. Instead, he waited for her to catch her breath and speak, “Oh my god… Fuck,” she coughed again, “You weren’t fucking kidding.”

Zoro chuckled, “No, I wasn’t.”

Sanji met his gaze with a shy smile, “Want to take a shower with me?”

His eyebrows shot up, Zoro couldn’t believe it, “You wanna have shower sex?”

Her responding blush was so fucking gorgeous. Sanji rolled her eyes and stood from the floor, “Come on, marimo.”

Not wanting to miss out on this opportunity, Zoro followed after Sanji to the master bathroom.

He was out of his clothes before Sanji was done turning on the shower. Zoro took the liberty of removing Sanji’s clothes for her, his lips leaving soft kisses across her body as his hands moved.

“Do you want sex or _shower_ sex?” She huffed with annoyance.

Zoro backed away to see Sanji glaring at him in irritation. He held up his hands in surrender, “Shower sex.”

A playful light bounced in her blue eyes, “Then let’s get in.”

Not needing any further encouragement, Zoro picked Sanji up, who wrapped her legs around his waist, and he stepped into the shower where hot water was already streaming down.

Their lips moved against one another with desperation, Zoro’s hands traveled down her back to her hips. He kept one hand supporting her weight as the other came around to the front to feel her wetness, _“Sanj~”_

 _“Uhhhhh~ Fuck!”_ Sanji grinded her hips against his hand, _“Zoro~ Fuck me, Zoro~”_

How was he supposed to say no to that?

Zoro shifted their bodies so he could enter her. He pushed his head against her hole and thrust himself deep inside, causing Sanji to cry out, _“AAHHH~ FUCK!”_

 _“Shit…”_ Sanji was so tight and hot around him, Zoro didn’t think he would be able to last for very long.

Sanji bucked her hips against him, _“Fucking MOVE, marimo~”_

_You’ve got to be fucking kidding me._

Zoro was furious that she would call him that while they were having sex. He wanted her to be screaming his _name,_ not some stupid nickname due to his hair color.

He tightened his grip on her waist, then snapped his hips, _“What’d you call me?”_ His voice was deep, dark, and dangerous.

With no response from Sanji, Zoro began to brutally thrust himself into her as the water cascaded down her back. Her moans were his fuel, he knew she wouldn’t be able to keep this up, he knew she would break and start to scream his name as soon as he found that spot…

_“ZORO~!”_

The loud cry of his name nearly sent him over the edge. Zoro groaned into her shoulder, _“Keep screaming.”_ He hit that spot, again and again, there was no way he’d stop until he got what he wanted.

_“Aaahh~ FUCK! Fuck~ Zoro!”_

He growled when he heard his name and thrust himself deeper and harder than before.

_“ZORO~ OHHH~ ZORO! FUCK! UUUHH~ ZORO! ZORO! ZORO! HARDER!”_

_“Baby… Fuck… Sanj…”_ He wasn’t going to last much longer if he kept this up.

Sanji began clawing at and dug her fingernails into his back, holding him tightly against her as she ground her hips into him, _“Zoro~ I’m so close…”_

 _“Fuck.”_ He couldn’t refuse this woman, Zoro didn’t want to. So, he thrust himself back and forth with as much force as he had left.

_“ZORO! ZORO! ZORO! ZORO! UUHHHH~ ZORO~”_

_“I’m gonna cum,”_ he at least wanted to warn her.

He felt Sanji clamp down around him as she moaned, _“Ohhh~ Fuck! Me too!”_

They reached their climaxes together. It was pure bliss, Zoro felt elated, like he could do anything—except let Sanji go.

As they caught their breaths and their racing heartbeats, Zoro gazed into Sanji’s eyes and smiled.

_She is so fucking gorgeous… With her hair all wet like this and water dripping from her body… Goddamnit, I’m so fucking lucky._

When they finished the shower—the _bathing_ part—Zoro handed Sanji two towels, one for her hair, as he used a third for himself.

Once he was dry he slipped back into his boxers and sweats, then turned to give Sanji a quick kiss, “I’ll let you get ready,” he kissed her again, “See you downstairs.”

Zoro went down to his gym and picked up some weights to begin his workout, “One, two, three, four…”

It was easy to lose himself in his actions, feeling the burning pull of his muscles as they strained to lift the weight. Training was good. Relaxing. He could do this for hours.

“Seven hundred twenty-three, seven hundred twenty-four, seven hundred twenty-five…” The counting was soothing, almost therapeutic for Zoro.

He didn’t know how much time had gone by, but he was still counting, “Two thousand five hundred fourty-nine, two thousand five hundred fifty—” Zoro could sense Sanji’s presence and dropped the weights, “He—”

When he turned to face her, he was left speechless.

Sanji was stunning. She wore a red dress and a matching shade of lipstick. Her makeup made her blue eye pop and gave her a sophisticated look. As always, she had her hair pulled back except for her bangs covering the right side of her face.

There was that dazzling smile again, “Did I break you, marimo?”

He snapped out of it and narrowed his eye, “I’m fine. What time is it?”

“Almost seven,” Sanji stepped closer to him and Zoro could smell her shampoo, “You gonna come for dinner?”

Zoro smiled fondly at the question, “You don’t mind?”

Sanji scoffed and playfully hit is shoulder, “Of course not! Why would I mind? It’s not like you don’t pay or make a huge mess.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled lightly, “I guess you’re right…”

She eyed him suspiciously, “What?” Then something must’ve came to her mind and she began to threaten, “Don’t get any fucking ideas…”

He rolled his eye, “Like I’d do something to risk getting banned from your restaurant…”

Sometimes it was rather easy to tell what kind of reaction Sanji would have to the things he said. Like right now, she was no longer on the cusps of a rampage because he subtly complemented her establishment. Instead, Sanji had practically pounced him and began to pepper his body in kisses.

Oddly, she didn’t seem to care that he was just working out and as a result was sweaty. Sanji hummed in content as she kissed his throat, “I look forward to seeing you later.”

Then she turned and walked away, not even giving Zoro a chance to kiss her back or say goodbye.

_Damn woman! She’s so fucking frustrating!_

The next couple of hours seemed to pass by without Zoro even realizing it. He had been so focused on swinging his weighted swords that he failed to notice the time.

“Four thousand nine hundred, four thousand nine hundred one, four thousand nine hundred two…” Zoro was gritting his teeth, barely hanging on as he continued his repetitions.

Then there was a loud gasp behind him, “Oh _my!”_

It startled Zoro enough to drop the weights and turn around in surprise, “T-Tashigi?” Zoro glanced up at the clock on the wall and saw it was already nine, “Shit—Sorry, I didn’t realize the time.”

As he was wiping himself off with is towel, Zoro couldn’t help but notice the way Tashigi was staring at him with what appeared to be a blush acoss her cheeks.

_Hasn’t she already seen me without a shirt on?_

Then he glanced at his reflection in the mirror for the first time all morning.

“What the fu—” Zoro ran up to the mirrored wall to get a closer look and was slightly horrified by the dark red hickeys that Sanji had left all over his neck and chest. There were dark red scratch marks on his back from their activity in the shower, and some faint smudges of her red lipstick around his neck where she kissed him before she left.

Zoro didn’t know how to feel about this.

On one hand, it was a major turn-on to be covered in marks from Sanji, but on the other hand—Tashigi.

He spun back around to face the poor girl who had to see him like this, “Uhh, I can explain.”

_Why the fuck do I feel so weird about this?_

The red frames of her glasses were practically invisible sitting against her red cheeks. Tashigi looked like she was going to have an aneurism, _“WHY AREN’T YOU WEARING A SHIRT?!”_

That was a pretty fair question. Why _wasn’t_ he wearing a shirt?

“I uh,” he scratched the back of his head, “I forgot I had these…”

_Oh god, this is so fucking awkward. I feel like I’m getting caught having sex by my sis—_

Zoro felt his own face heat up in a treacherous blush, “I’ll be right back.”

He stepped out of the gym and marched upstairs to grab a tshirt, grumbling about how Tashigi isn’t Kuina and he needs to stop confusing the two women.

When he went back downstairs, Tashigi was stretching in the room they normally would have lessons in.

As he entered the room, she looked up and smiled, “So, I take it Sanji liked the flowers?”

_Oh, for fucks sake!_

Zoro groaned and closed his eye, probably blushing considering how hot his face felt.

Tashigi giggled, “Well, I’m glad.”

He eyed her suspiciously, trying not to give anything away with his expression as he wondered if this woman was always like this…something.

The smile on her face wasn’t quite right, “I mean, you just seem like a really nice guy.” Something about the tone of her voice made Zoro feel something twist in his stomach. She let out a soft sigh, “You deserve to be with someone who cares about you.”

_Oh…wait—_

“Before you say anything, Tashigi,” he let out a long, frustrated groan, “You remind me too much of someone I considered a sister that nothing would’ve ever happened between you and me.”  He caught her gaze and slowly explained, “Sanji and I are made for each other.”

She blinked back at him with a blank stare for a few moments, until she began to smile, “Like I said, I’m glad.”

Zoro let out a breath of relief, for whatever reason, he liked Tashigi—perhaps it was because of how much she reminded him of Kuina. He also didn’t want there to be any sort of awkwardness between him and one of his students. “Thanks,” he gave her a grateful smile.

Then she became a little more serious, “I just don’t appreciate _seeing_ all _that,”_ she gestured to his body with her hand, referring to the hickeys.

_Definitely still feels like I’m getting caught by my sister…_

The rest of their lesson went smoothly and just before lunchtime when Tashigi was about to leave, Zoro called to her, “Maybe I’ll stop by for some more flowers.”

She turned back with a smile, “You should bring Sanji next time.” Then she was off with a wave.

Zoro was left with something to mull over.

His lunch was uneventful, eating food was uneventful unless it was Sanji’s food. Sanji could make anything taste good, he just _knew it._

The sandwich he put together tasted like crap compared to the toast she made them for breakfast.

_What the fuck did she put on that toast, anyway?_

He had no fucking clue, but the sappy part of him wanted to say it was made with love and care.

_What the fuck is wrong with me?_

In his mind he ran over the things he had to do this afternoon. He didn’t have an afternoon lesson, but he had after-school lessons for the younger kids today.

Zoro suddenly had the urge to go over and visit Sanji. Without giving it any thought, he rushed downstairs and out the back door into the alleyway.

He could see the back door of _All Blue_ opening, Zoro rushed in the direction to catch whoever might be walking out to let him in and bring him to Sanji, because he just _had_ to see her.

But once he saw who it was, a completely different idea came to mind, “Hey! Afro!”

The tall, skinny guy who played up on stage with Sanji turned in his direction and his afro swayed from the sudden movement, “Yohohoho! You’re Sanji’s boyfriend she can’t stop talking about!”

_That wasn’t what I was expecting…_

“Zoro.” He awkwardly stood near the man as he wondered if the guy was going to suddenly fall over and die with how frail he looked.

His smile was far wider than what he would think possible, “Nice to meet you, Zoro! I’m Brooke—the musician of this fine establishment—Yohoho!”

When he shook his hand, Zoro was impressed with Brooke’s strong grip. He smiled in amusement, “What’re you doing for the next couple hours, Brooke?”

“Hmmm, I was going to tune some instruments, why?” Zoro liked where this was going.

He had the feeling that Brooke was the kind of guy who was easy to talk to and be around, despite the odd laugh. “I was wondering if you could teach me a few things,” was Zoro really doing this right now, “I want to surprise Sanji somehow.”

The man’s face lit up, “Yohoho! No wonder Sanji speaks so fondly of you! Of course!” Brooke turned around and opened the backdoor to _All Blue,_ “Follow me, there’s a place we can go.”

That was how Zoro found himself in what appeared to be a music room in the back of _All Blue._ There were a bunch of different instruments—trumpets, trombones, guitars, violins, cellos, a piano—and many others he didn’t know the name of. He definitely was out of his element.

Brooke calmly walked over to a rack of guitars and pulled an acoustic one from the wall, “Have you ever played?”

Zoro shook his head, “Nah, I’m not very artistic.”

The man’s smile was huge, “Yet you want to be for Sanji.”

He couldn’t help but blush and scratch the back of his head, “Yeah, I guess so…”

“Yohoho! I can see why Sanji likes you,” Brooke began to tune the guitar in his hands and continued to say, “She is a person of passion. Sanji is drawn to people who push themselves and strive to be better.”

“I spent my whole life trying to become the greatest swordsman in the world. Bettering myself is like second nature,” Zoro paused thoughtfully, “Now all I want is to be what’s best for her.”

Brooke stopped his tuning to give Zoro a serious look, “You don’t need to know anything about music to be that for Sanji.” He must’ve been able to see that Zoro was going to protest so he quickly added, “But if you want to learn, I can certainly teach you.”

A smile crossed his lips, “That would be…awesome.”

_Wow… Brooke is actually a pretty cool guy…_

“So what kind of panties does Sanji wear?”

“What?” Did Zoro hear that right? “Did you really just ask me about my girlfriend’s underwear?”

“Yohoho! Sanji never will show it to me when I ask,” was all Brooke said.

Zoro had to reconsider his opinion of Brooke.

_This guy is serious. What the hell? Why is he asking to see Sanji’s underwear? That’s quite… Strange… At least she doesn’t show him I guess… Wait, why the fuck am I giving this so much thought?_

“Brooke,” he turned to him with a stern expression, “Quit asking Sanji to see her underwear. That’s for my eye only.”

Lucky for Brooke, he seemed to get the hint and quickly nodded his head, “Yes, of course!”

He smiled, “Great, so here’s what I wanna learn….”

For the next couple hours, Brooke began to teach Zoro how to play the ukulele. It was like a small guitar, but Brooke was very unimpressed when he called it that, saying it was a completely different instrument. It only had four strings—apparently guitars have six, who knew? Zoro couldn’t stop thinking about how sexy Sanji had looked the previous night when she played that electric guitar on stage. He wanted to be able to surprise Sanji in some way and make her feel that fluttery feeling in _her_ stomach as he performs for _her._

Once it got close to three, Zoro headed back to the dojo and prepared for his students to arrive.

The first to arrive was a kid named Mononosuke, who immediately pointed at him and announced, “You have bruises on your throat sensei.”

_Goddamnit…_

Zoro narrowed his gaze and crossed his arms, “You should see the other person.”

Momonosuke looked like he had just been told about a fire-breathing dragon. Zoro didn’t really want to explain this to the kid, so he was happy Momonosuke seemed to think he beat someone up. Especially when he began to tell the other kids who showed up, “Sensei got in a fight! Look at his bruises, but the other guy must be way worse!”

_Payback for all the hickeys I gave her… I bet the people she works with said something about it to her, too._

He shook his head with a smile on his lips as his thoughts were on Sanji.

“Sensei are you going to start class?”

Zoro wasn’t sure which one of the kids asked the question, but it managed to snap him out of his trance and he returned his focus to the task at hand. He had been too focused on Sanji that he hadn’t realized th last of his students had arrived.

“Alright,” he got their attention and instructed, “Everyone grab a wooden sword from the bin and pick a partner.”

The kids were usually well-behaved and today was no different. The only problem was after class when Momonosuke’s guardian came to pick him up.

“Hey there, Roronoa.” The burly gray-haired man had a creepy smirk on his face as he began to chat up Zoro after class.

“Smoker,” Zoro nodded his head in acknowledgement. He didn’t _dislike_ Smoker, but he did feel a little on-edge whenever he was around—the guy was the chief of police in Raftel afterall.

Gesturing to his neck, Smoker’s smile grew wider, “So, did you finally get laid?”

Zoro instinctively froze and felt his face become hot.

Smoker started laughing and pat him on the shoulder, “Good for you.” When he managed to look back at Smoker, he was genuinely smiling.

“Uh, thanks,” he mumbled.

“They must be important to you.” Smoker was really being quite friendly at the moment, he couldn’t understand why or how he could notice that until he said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look this happy.”

_Oh. Right—I don’t look pissed._

That made him smile, “Her name’s Sanji—own’s _All Blue_ next door.”

Smoker hummed, thoughtfully, “That place has been there for a couple years now.”

Zoro scoffed at the reminder, “I know,” he was feeling bitter again, “Sucks that we only met last Friday.”

The older man raised his eyebrow, “So you hit it off right away?”

“Not exactly…” Zoro was saying it before he even realized, “I’ve never been attracted to someone before, so I didn’t know what the hell I was feeling.”

That made Smoker chuckle, “Why am I not surprised?”

Zoro rolled his eye, but smiled, “Shut up.”

Smoker shrugged it off, “Anyway, I just want to say congratulations.” He gave Zoro a warm-hearted smile—something he rarely saw, if ever— “I’ve always thought you were a nice guy, but you seemed lonely. It looks like she likes you a great deal.”

_Goddamn… These damn hickeys, even with a shirt. This reminds me of my conversation with Tashigi earlier…_

“Hey Smoker,” he was going out on a limb here, “Are you seeing anyone right now?”

He got a strange look in return, “No, I haven’t met anyone new in awhile, why?”

“Well,” he only lingered for a moment before saying, “I’ve got this new student—Tashigi—she owns the flower shop by the hospital. But something tells me you’d like her—assuming you haven’t met.”

_Fuck. Why am I doing this? Playing matchmaker? Who am I—Nami? Fuck me. This is not something I would normally do—that must be why Smoker looks so surprised right now._

“Uh, no—I haven’t.” Smoker looked rather comical as he coughed into his fist and asked, “What’s she like?”

Zoro smiled slightly, “She knows how to use a sword—I can tell you that much for certain. She’s a very kind and passionate person who seems to put others before herself.” He remembered when they first met, and she asked how he got Wado Ichimonji, “She is nosy and stubborn, but doesn’t back down from a challenge.”

Smoker seemed to be hanging onto every word, nodding with a thoughtfullness in his eyes, “Sounds like she would make a good cop.”

He laughed at that, “Yeah, I dunno, maybe.” Then he thought of the flower arrangement she had made for Sanji and stated, “She is a good florist.”

“By the hospital, you say?” Smoker asked for clarification.

Nodding his head, Zoro added with a wink and a smile, “You might want to unbutton your shirt, she seems to be affected by that sort of thing.”

The man rolled his eyes and gruffed, “I’m surprised to see you’re wearing a shirt _at all.”_

“Hey, my dojo, my rules—you know this.” How many times had he and Smoker discussed Zoro’s perpetual shirtless-ness in his dojo over the years anyway?

“I know, I know.” Smoker casually raised his hands in surrender, “But if that woman of yours can get you to wear a shirt, I say she’s good for you.”

He couldn’t help the stupid smile that formed on his face, “She’s made for me.”

Zoro didn’t even care how mushy and cheesy or romantic and sappy he might sound—he was serious—Sanji and himself were made for each other.

Smoker’s expression was curious, “How did you two meet?” It was a fair question to be asked.

“Mutual friend’s engagement party.” Zoro softly chuckled, “Our friend wanted to set us up for years, but Sanji had been with someone else and I never went to that damn restaurant until after I met her.”

“Huh,” Smoker was inquisitive, but said nothing more and seemed lost in thought.

That’s when Momonosuke came over to where they were talking and pulled on Smoker’s arm, “Can we go, yet? I’m hungry!”

The two men nodded and waved to bid farewell, then Zoro found himself to be alone in his dojo.

When he glanced up at the clock, he figured that he’d have time to shower and change before getting dinner at _All Blue._

After the shower, Zoro found himself putting on a dress shirt.

That was odd.

He left the top three buttons undone, rolled up the sleeves, and pulled on a pair of black jeans.

Zoro checked himself in the mirror before he left and ran his fingers through his short green hair, “Fuck~ these hickeys…”

_Whatever, I don’t give a fuck. Sanji is my girlfriend, if she does this to me I’ll fucking show them off._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I had planned on updating this sooner, but oh well, better late than never. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I had fun writing Zoro's interactions with people other than Sanji. In case anyone is curious about the whole Brooke and Zoro learning how to play an instrument--well you will have to wait and see what I have planned for that. We all know that you can't learn how to play an instrument in a day unless you are August Rush--am I right?
> 
> Anyway. Tashigi and Smoker anyone? Hehehe... I can't help myself--I'm thinking of writing a chapter for those two... let me know what you think??
> 
> Leave kudos/comment! I love the feedback!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	16. First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
> 
> There are lemons towards the end of the chapter, enjoy!

Sanji was having a wonderful day.

She couldn’t stop smiling as she hummed to herself while she worked in the kitchen of her restaurant.

It didn’t go unnoticed.

The sous chef, Thatch, grinned at Sanji with the intent to pry information out of her—willing or otherwise.

“Hey boss, what’s got you so smiley?”

Sanji smiled even more by getting called ‘smiley’ and couldn’t help but notice the other staff in the kitchen were listening-in with so much eagerness, it was hard to resist.

“Well,” Sanji contemplated her options. She could be vauge, she could be casual, or she could go all-out.

She went all-out.

Sanji began to gush, “I met this guy at my friends’ engagement party a couple weeks ago and he is like seriously hot—it shouldn’t even be legal how fucking ripped his body is. But anyway, the guy is a total idiot, so it took him awhile to realize how charming I am—but he is the sweetest guy ever and I know he would do anything for me. Yesterday I came home to flowers—just because! So yeah, I have a boyfriend now and I’ve been staying at his place. We woke up together this morning and I got to make him breakfast.”

Thatch was staring back at her with his eyes wide with shock—from the news itself or how she delivered it, Sanji couldn’t say until he declared, “Wow, Sanji! I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about a guy like this!”

Sanji tried and miserably failed at hiding her flushed cheeks, “Thatch, I am so in-love!” She was beaming, “I’ve never felt so happy in all my life!”

It was true, all of it. Sanji couldn’t contain her excitement and enthusiasm for Zoro. Now that she had started she wasn’t able to stop.

“His name is Zoro—Roronoa Zoro—he is the owner of the dojo next door.”

“Wait a second,” Thatch put some of his previous knowledge together with new information, “My brother Marco knows him—”

“No shit! Marco’s your brother? I met him at that party! His husband, Ace, eats a fuck-ton!”

“Yeah! I know, right?!” Thatch laughed, “Glad I didn’t have to go to that party and cook. I’m assuming Luffy was there too?”

Sanji chuckled as she continued to work in the kitchen and talk with Thatch as others listened-in, “You know it. I had these guys cooking up more food all night long.”

Thatch shook his head in nostalgia, “I miss those guys, they always appreciate good food.”

That reminded her, “Zoro keeps eating here every night for dinner, you know?”

She didn’t expect Thatch to know that, so she was surprised when he seemed to be enlightened, “Ah, _that’s_ why you keep making sea king steak and onigiri every night before singing—that’s not even technically a menu item.”

Sanji felt embarrassed, she couldn’t believe Thatch had noticed—maybe she needed to give him more credit. She stuttered out, “S-shut up!”

There was more than just Thatch laughing at her after that, but Sanji couldn’t find it in her to scold them.

Instead she sighed, “You know, Zoro just makes me feel so happy and cared for that I don’t want to ruin it by yelling at you all for teasing me.”

They all stared at her in silence until Thatch genuinely asked, “Are you for real? Are you really our boss?”

_Okay that does it…_

“Goddamnit Thatch! What did I fucking tell you?! I didn’t wanna ruin it! But you know what you just did?! You _ruined_ it! FUCK!”

When Sanji came out of her fit of rage she was irritated to see Thatch with a stupid smile, “Yup, still the same temper.”

She groaned loudly and irritably, hoping Thatch would get the hint and quit pushing his luck.

_Of course, it is still me! Just because I have a boyfriend and am happy doesn’t mean I am suddenly a completely different person! That would be ridiculous! People don’t just change because they are with someone… Do they?_

It was while Sanji was lost in thought that she was wordlessly handed a note from one of her waiters. She unfolded the note and read the surprisingly neat, yet bold writing of the marimo.

_Join me for dinner, it’ll be our first date._

_-Zoro_

How was she supposed to decline? He was already there, it wouldn’t hurt if she left the kitchen for awhile…right?

“Hey, Thatch?” Sanji questioned, pulling her gaze from the note.

“Yeah,” he turned to her and asked, “What’s up?”

“Zoro’s here, he wants me to eat with him, as a date.”

Before she could say anything further, Thatch began to shoo her out of her own kitchen, “Well then go! We don’t need you here all the time! Go have fun with your new boyfriend and we’ll handle things in here!”

She was given no room to protest, her apron was even gone so Sanji was left standing in her red dress.

_Fuck… Why did I have to wear this dress today???_

The straps were thick and hung off her shoulders, the neckline traveled just barely over the tops of her breasts. The dress was low-cut, well for Sanji it was—she didn’t usually show cleavage—but this one allowed for it to peak out from time to time.

Part of Sanji felt like Zoro was doing this _because_ of what she was wearing today. He certainly seemed to like it when she was leaving for work. She wondered if he noticed she covered her neck and chest with makeup to hide all her hickeys.

Giving Zoro all those hickeys as payback was certainly fun and exciting. Sanji kind of understood why he liked giving them to her—it was a possessive sort of thing. She didn’t mind receiving hickeys from him either. It was rather arousing, but not something she had ever done before, it made her feel like a teenager again.

The point is that other people can see them, and it is kinda awkward. Because she is you know, twenty-six, not sixteen.

She hoped Zoro would realize this.

He didn’t.

As soon as Sanji stepped into the dining room of _All Blue_ she spotted the familiar head of green hair and immediately noticed that he was wearing a button-up shirt and had the collar open, exposing the dark red hickeys she left on his neck.

_Fucking idiot marimo…_

Somehow, Sanji found herself walking towards him, without even fully comprehending that was what she was doing. Sanji was unconsciously drawn to him and when she was a few meters away, he looked up and caught her gaze.

In the next instant Zoro was standing from his chair and walking in her direction, a smile on his lips, “You came.”

Zoro looked so genuinely surprised that Sanji couldn’t help but feel surprised herself, “Yeah, I did.”

She felt his hand wrap around hers and he brought her fingers to his lips, “You are stunning.”

Sanji knew she was blushing like a school-girl in front of the whole restaurant, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care. Zoro was the sexiest man alive and she was having a _real date_ with him.

Zoro pulled her chair out for her and didn’t let go of her hand until she was comfortably seated.

It was the same table he always was seated at—the same one she would come to after she finished singing her songs for the night.

Sanji’s heart was pounding in her chest, her throat felt incredibly dry, she needed something to drink, water. There was already a glass at the table and Sanji took it greatfully.

She could tell that Zoro was staring at her, but she didn’t care. This was the first date she had ever been on. Sanji didn’t know how this was supposed to work.

“Hey, curly brow?”

When she looked up to Zoro, she could see there was worry written all over his handsome face. Sanji swallowed down the water and gave him a tight smile, “Yes, marimo?”

Zoro studied her for a moment before asking, “Is everything alright? You seem… I dunno, nervous.”

_Fuck, he could tell?_

Sighing, Sanji mindlessly caressed the scar on her hand from needing stitches, “Why are you doing this?”

He stared back at her in confusion, “Doing what?”

Sanji’s heart began to pound as she looked Zoro in his eye and said, “Asking me on a date.”

The man looked as clueless as ever, he reminded her of a child. But that faded away and what was left was a man who wouldn’t back down from a challenge, “Sanji, you’re my girl.” Zoro reached across the table and took her hand, “I didn’t want to wait any longer to show you off.”

Her hand felt hot from the heat he was giving off, everything about Zoro was hot—the way he looked, the way he behaved—it was making Sanji feel _all_ hot and bothered.

Luckily one of the waiters came to their table and ignored the obvious blush on her face, “Did you want to see a menu, boss?”

Sanji shook her head, “No, I’ll have the spaghetti alle vongole with a glass of Frascati, please.”

“And you, sir?”

“Umm, I’ll have the same.”

_What? Seriously?_

As the waiter left, Sanji stared at Zoro in shock. He shrugged his shoulders and asked, “What?”

“Do you even know what I ordered?”

Again, he shrugged, “No, but I’m sure it’ll taste good.”

Sanji tried to hide her smirk, Frascati is not a wine that Zoro would like, not strong at all.

When the waiter returned with their glasses of wine, Sanji immediately asked, “Would you also bring us a nice bottle of sake?”

He nodded and turned away, Zoro stared at her curiously, then took the first sip of his wine. His face scrunched up and he smacked his lips, “This is…”

Before he could finish his thought, Sanji explained, “It’s a light, dry white—goes well with the dish we ordered.” She was giggling but managed to calm herself down and smiled at him, “You don’t have to drink it if you don’t like it, that’s why I asked for the sake.”

Zoro smiled back at her, it was soft and gentle like the look in his eye, “Thanks.”

Sanji felt much more relaxed than she had earlier, “So,” she took a sip of her own wine before continuing, “How was your day? Anything exciting happen?”

He rolled his eye, “Yeah, Kuina yelled at me for not wearing a shirt.”

She raised her eyebrow in amusement, “Oh?”

Suddenly Zoro didn’t seem quite so composed, “She saw _everything_ Sanji!”

She couldn’t help but laugh as she asked, “Why weren’t you wearing a shirt?”

_Oh god, the blush on Zoro’s face is so damn cute!_

He was nervously scratching the back of his head, “I forgot.”

“Wait, so you didn’t look in the mirror or anything?” Sanji had a hard time believing that.

“No,” Zoro shook his head and kept his gaze on the table cloth, “She showed up for her lesson and I was still working out… After seeing her reaction, I looked at myself in the mirror and realized I was covered in hickeys and scratches,” Zoro was adorable as he pouted, “Plus you got lipstick on me.” Then he sighed, “I put a shirt on after that.”

Sanji felt kinda bad for not reminding him, but she mostly found it hilarious. Still, she could tell he was uncomfortable about it, so she kept her laughter to herself and instead gave him a sympathetic smile, “Maybe I went a little overboard.”

Zoro was suddenly smiling much brighter, “Nah, don’t worry about it. You can do this,” he gestured to his neck, “As much as you want.”

Her heart was pounding in her chest, Sanji didn’t know what to say, what to do. Unconsciouly she was smiling one of her brightest smiles while she stared at the man of her dreams.

As she was completely unaware of her surroundings, their waiter returned with their meals and a bottle of sake, “Anything else I can get for you?”

“No, thanks.” Zoro answered for them, Sanji was pretty sure she was in no mental state to speak to anyone at the moment.

Sanji did manage to begin eating her food—spaghetti and clams. Zoro seemed to watch how she did it before trying the food himself.

She smiled when she saw him close his eye and enjoy the first bite. Even though she didn’t personally cook the dish, it was still made at her restaurant—it was nice to see him appreciate it.

“It’s good.”

Sanji could only nod her head in silent agreement. Why did she feel so strange?

“My students think I got into a fight.”

“What?” That managed to snap her out of whatever trance she was in.

Zoro took a long drink of sake then nodded his head, “Yeah, I told them they should see the other person.”

A blush was creeping up on her exposed chest, “Why would you tell them that?!”

He was chuckling at her expense, but he looked so fucking sexy Sanji could care less, “They just assumed they were bruises, and I didn’t want to explain it to a bunch of kids.”

Sanji took a bite of food and nodded her head, agreeing with him. When she was finished chewing and swallowed, she had a sip of wine.

“I kinda set the chief of police up with Tashigi.”

“Huh?”

When she focused her attention on Zoro his expression was quite stoic, “Oddly enough, they reminded me of each other.”

She chuckled, “Who’re you? Nami?”

Zoro laughed with her, his smile was dazzling, “I know, I was thinking the same thing.”

“How do you know the chief of police? Have you been locked up?” Sanji was mostly teasing, but as soon as she asked the question she realized that she wanted to know the answer.

He reacted nothing like she thought he would.

Zoro tensed up and looked down at the half-eaten plate of food in front of him.

Sanji suddenly wished she never asked.

But before she could say anything, Zoro cleared his throat and said, “His kid is one of my students, has been for years.” Then he lifted his gaze to hers, “I’ve never been ‘locked-up’ but I once was tied to a post for ten days.”

She scrunched up her face in confusion, “Why?”

“I was in a town run by this guy, Morgan, was his name. Anyway, I killed his dog when it attacked a little girl and that was my punishment,” Zoro paused, as if lost in the memory, “They weren’t supposed to feed me, but the little girl had made me rice balls.” He was looking down at his food again, then continued to eat it, acting as if nothing had happened.

But that wasn’t true—Zoro had shared something with her, a moment when he had been vulnerable. She didn’t want to pry and felt like there was nothing more to say on the matter. However, Sanji wanted to share her own experience and told him, “Before Zeff and I got to Raftel, we were stranded at sea for…weeks—fuck, it was more like months. He gave me all the food we had, but it didn’t last forever.”

“How did you both survive?”

“Zeff ate part of his own leg.”

Zoro’s eye was wide for a moment before he returned to normal, “You still think he doesn’t care about you?”

“No, it’s just…” Sanji sighed loudly, “I never did anything to deserve that from him! I mean—I’m not even _technically_ his kid!” How many times she had thought about this over the past twenty years? Too many.

“Hey,” Zoro’s hand was once again on her own, giving her his warmth. Sanji met his eye and melted under his gaze, “You never needed to deserve anything from him—Zeff loves you. Just like how you don’t need to do something to deserve being with me.”

Sanji stared back into his gray eye and dreamily wondered out loud, “How do you always know exactly what I need to hear?”

Zoro’s smile should be criminal, “I just do.”

_Fuck, he looks so damn sexy when he smiles like that…_

She distracted herself by finishing her food. Talking with Zoro was great, but she didn’t want her food to get cold before she could finish eating it.

The wine was the perfect touch to her meal. Since Zoro wasn’t drinking his glass, once Sanji finished hers, she began to drink from his.

Zoro was finished eating before Sanji. He was slowly nursing from the bottle of sake, watching Sanji as she ate across from him.

It made Sanji’s heart pound against her chest, she was getting worked up over him looking at her the way he was. Once she was finished eating, she accusingly asked, “Why’re you looking at me like that?”

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards, Zoro stopped leaning his elbow on the table and sat up straight, but the look in his eye remained as he said, “I’ve just never felt so happy being with someone before.”

Sanji knew she was blushing, as if she’d be able to _not_ blush from the sweet things Zoro says to her. She was smiling, too.

“Fuck, Sanj…” When she looked back at Zoro he was still looking at her like that—like he was in love with her. “You make my heart beat so fast when you smile like that.”

“Shit…” Sanji whispered under her breath as she turned away, her skin burning from her blushing like mad.

_How embarrassing…but Zoro must feel the same way I do right now…_

When she turned back to Zoro—her boyfriend, her _date_ —she felt her heart begin to beat a little faster.

Neither of them broke the silence between them, because it wasn’t uncomfortable. Sanji felt as if she could communicate with Zoro just by looking into his eye. Her heart, although pounding, felt full in her chest—she felt whole.

It was a wonderful feeling.

Their waiter came back and once again, Sanji found herself in no shape to have a conversation.

She only watched Zoro as he spoke to them, “I’m going to take her home, I’m sure that’s not a problem.” Zoro handed them a few folded bills, “This is to cover our bill, keep the change.”

The waiter’s eyes went wide, “Y-yes, sir!”

Zoro waited for the waiter to leave before turning his attention back to Sanji, “Want to go for a walk?”

Sanji blinked several times to clear her brain, then nodded her head.

He stood from the table and offered his hand, which Sanji graciously took. She felt his other hand on the small of her back as she led them towards the back door, stopping in her office to grab her bag.

Once they were outside in the alleyway, Zoro laced his fingers with hers and tugged on her hand, “Let’s go to that spot you like.”

Sanji turned to him with a smile on her face, “Yeah, okay.”

She knew Zoro would never be able to find it, not because it was hard to find or far away, but because he had a terrible sense of direction, so she led the way.

As she walked beside him, Sanji was still trying to figure out why Zoro wanted to have a date with her _today._ Was it really because he couldn’t wait? Or maybe it was something else?

“What’s on your mind, curly brow?”

When she glanced back at Zoro, she saw he was staring at her with a curious look in his eye. Sanji sighed, “I don’t understand why you’re doing this, Zoro. I mean—why did you do this _today?_ Why couldn’t you just wait until tomorrow? Or _never_ take me on a date—”

“You’re still going on about that?” They were now at the cliffside, Zoro stopped walking and leaned to whisper in her ear, “If you really want to know…there was no way I was gonna let you sing on stage wearing that dress.”

Her breath caught in her throat, but she still managed to ask, “What’s wrong with my dress?”

A low growl escaped from Zoro and the sound went straight to her groin, “Nothin’ really, you just look so sexy in it… If people are gonna stare at you, I want to be right there with you, so they know you’re mine.”

Sanji rolled her eyes as she blushed, “You’re the only one who stares at me, Zoro.”

He chuckled, “Not true. You just don’t notice the other people.”

“They were probably staring at you, since you have all those hickeys on your neck.”

“Yeah, and I bet they could guess who put them there.”

The cool breeze from the ocean felt nice on her flushed skin. Sanji turned to gaze out at the horizon, she couldn’t keep eye-contact with Zoro any longer.

He was smiling his cocky smile, it made Sanji feel hot and bothered again.

Zoro was still holding her hand and began to trace her scar, “How’d this happen?”

Sanji stared at their hands, his tan, rough ones holding her dainty, yet scarred one, “I cut myself at work. Law actually stitched it up—was the night we met.”

Her hand was lifted to his lips and Sanji watched as Zoro kissed her scar. His eye flickered to hers and held her gaze with a smile on his lips.

She blinked at Zoro with uncertainty, then Sanji turned away and dug through her purse until she found her cell phone. Once she opened the camera, she handed it to Zoro, “Take a picture of us.”

Zoro took her offered phone and held it in front of them, then pulled Sanji close to his side and smiled at the camera. Sanji grinned at the sight of him, then turned to the camera herself and Zoro took a photo.

He kissed the top of her head and took another, then another when he kissed her cheek. Sanji turned to him and heard the camera go off again. Zoro pressed his lips to hers and she heard the shutter continue to click as they kissed.

Eventually, Zoro pulled away with a huge grin on his face and handed Sanji her phone back.

She couldn’t contain the excited giggle that had built up inside her from witnessing Zoro’s uncharacteristic behavior.

He still had that smug and sexy grin on his face as he asked, “Why’re you laughing?”

Sanji calmed her laughter, “You surprise me, marimo.”

Zoro’s brow was raised in curiosity, “How so?”

Humming in thought, Sanji stated, “I didn’t expect you to be so romantic on a first date.”

He seemed relieved, “Am I doing okay? You know, I’ve never been on a date before…”

_Oh god, I totally forgot!_

Sanji could no longer contain her happiness, “Oh, Zoro! This has been wonderful! I don’t really have anything to compare this to…” She stared into his gray eye, “I keep falling more and more in love with you.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Zoro’s was there capturing her lips with a kiss. His tongue licked at her upper lip, then swiped across her lower one before prodding his way into her mouth. Sanji felt his fingers combing through her hair along her scalp, pulling her closer. Her arms were around his neck, pulling herself against him as they deepened their kiss.

While they were wrapped up in a makeout session, neither noticed the figure approaching until it was too late.

“Hello my little eggplant!”

~~~~~~~

Zeff watched in amusement as Sanji jumped away from the green-haired man she was previously locking-lips with.

The man, however, did nothing of the sort.

He stared back at Zeff with one eye and turned back to Sanji when she shouted, “Goddamnit! You shitty old geezer! Why do you never tell me when you’re coming to visit?!”

“And why should I tell you that when you don’t tell me you’ve got a boyfriend?!”

That shut her up.

While Sanji was clearly trying (and failing) to come up with a good explanation, the man beside her cleared his throat, “You must be Zeff, I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Zoro—Sanji’s boyfriend.”

Zeff shook his hand, the kid had a strong grip, “Can’t say the same about you.”

Zoro had a curious look in his eye that Zeff found unsettling, but it wasn’t because he seemed dangerous—it was the man’s obvious intuition. Just because Zeff knew nothing about him, didn’t mean he knew nothing about Zeff.

“How long will you be in town?” Zoro’s tone was polite.

“Just a few days. My crew back at my restaurant told me I couldn’t be seen around there for at least a week, but they are lucky I left at all.”

“Do you need a place to stay? Because—”

Sanji loudly cleared her throat and glared at her boyfriend before turning to Zeff, “You can stay at my place, I’ve been staying at Zoro’s anyway.”

Zeff looked between Sanji and Zoro, who seemed to be communicating with one another without speaking.

Zoro turned back to Zeff with a smirk, “What do ya say?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever. Just give me the keys so I can leave. You two are gross.”

“HEY!” Sanji shouted at him, Zeff couldn’t help but notice she changed the way she parted her hair, it reminded him of her mother.

“What do you want me to say, Sanji? Do you _really_ think I want to see you kissing some man I’ve never met and then find out the two of you are living together? The last I heard from you, the last guy you were seeing had cheated on you! I wanted to come check up on you to see if you were okay because I hadn’t heard from you.”

“I’m _fine,_ old man! I’m more than fine, I’m happy!”

Those were words he had never heard from her.

_She’s happy, Sora. Our daughter is happy._

Zeff let out a long sigh, “Well, give me the keys then, I remember how to get there. I’ll leave you two alone.”

The two lovebirds exchanged another look, then Zoro said, “We can drive you over there. Where are your bags?”

“Left them at Sanji’s restaurant.” He should’ve believed the staff when they said she left with a date. Zeff didn’t think such a thing would happen without him knowing about it. Not because he and Sanji were particularily close, but she generally would let him know what was going on in her life.

Sanji seemed to calm down as soon as Zoro grabbed her hand. In fact, Zeff had never seen her smile like that at _anyone_ and Zoro looked the same way.

Zeff rolled his eyes and grumbled, “Well let’s go then.”

The whole walk back to _All Blue_ was spent with Zeff following a few steps behind them, wanting to keep an eye on the man his daughter had suddenly taken an interest in. He didn’t _want_ to see something bad, more like he wanted to make sure he didn’t do anything innopropriate. He also didn’t _want_ to see the two of them swinging their hands between each other, without even realizing it, _or_ see them keep glancing at one another, longingly.

By the time they were at the restaurant, Zeff wanted to scoop his eyes from their sockets so he never had to see such a sight ever again.

“Zoro, would you run inside and get his bags?” Sanji batted her eyelashes and smiled.

He stepped inside the back door and disappeared into the restaurant. The poor man was wrapped around her finger.

As soon as the door was closed behind him, Sanji turned to him with a pleading look in her eye, “Please don’t ruin this for me. Zoro is a really great guy, I didn’t tell you about him because everything happened so fast.”

Zeff let out a soft grunt, “Don’t tell me he knocked you up.”

Sanji looked furious, “NO! I’M NOT—WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!”

_She’s right._

“I’m just concerned is all.” Zeff couldn’t deny that any longer.

He didn’t get a chance to explain why before Zoro was coming through the back door with Zeff’s bags.

His reappearance was actually a god-send that saved him and Sanji from a very awkward conversation. Zeff has never once said he was concerned about Sanji, not aloud, not ever.

Zoro smiled to them both and asked, “Ready?”

To say Zeff was surprised to be led next door to the dojo was an understatement. He was completely flabbergasted. Zoro put his bags into the trunk of his car in the garage and opened the passenger side door for Sanji before helping her in.

When Zoro walked around the hood and came face to face with Zeff, he looked in the eye as if it was a challenge. Zeff had to admit that although he didn’t necessarily _like_ that his daughter was dating someone, he did like Zoro’s guts.

Without exchanging a word, they got into the car and began to drive towards Sanji’s apartment. Zeff wondered to himself why Sanji was giving him directions the entire way—it was as if he had never been to her apartment before.

Once they were parked outside, Zoro turned to Sanji, “Give me the key and wait in the car.”

Zeff expected Sanji to protest, but she looked relieved more than anything. She smiled and nodded her head as she dug around in the bag she was carrying and removed a key from her keyring. After handing it to Zoro, she glanced back at Zeff nervously then turned to face forward, “See you tomorrow, shitty geezer.”

“See ya, brat.”

He was out of the car in a flash and began walking towards the building. Zoro was removing his bags from the trunk and carried them inside behind him. Part of Zeff was hoping he could be faster than Zoro and make it to the elevator and not have to ride up with him—but who was he kidding, his prostetic leg hurt from walking around so much already.

Zoro was at the elevator before he was, and he patently waited for him, holding the door open as he waited inside with his bags. Zeff almost felt bad for not wanting to be around Zoro, now seeing he was being so polite. Once he was inside, Zoro pressed the correct floor number to Sanji’s apartment.

_So, he has been here before…?_

“Sanji doesn’t like being here—reminds her of her ex.”

Zeff turned to Zoro after he spoke and asked, “Is that why she’s staying with you?”

Zoro gave his question some thought before answering, “She’s staying with me because she’s happier at my place with me than she is here, with or without me.”

The elevator arrived at the third floor and they got out. Zeff led the way down the hallway to her door and Zoro opened it with the key he held.

After stepping inside, it was clear to Zeff why Sanji didn’t want to be at this place. It was not only tiny, but there was nothing that made it look lived in.

“Yeah, I don’t think this place suits her very well.” Zoro was right about that.

“Look kid,” Zeff turned to Zoro with a stern look, “I know you know.”

Zoro’s eye widened but stayed quiet.

Zeff could tell he knew. It was obvious to him that this man had figured it out and confessed, “I’m Sanji’s biological father.”

He had expected Zoro to get angry, to shout at him—Zeff never expected him to calmly state the facts, “Her mother had an affair with you—that’s why her husband mistreated Sanji.”

Zeff nodded his head, “It’s why he let me leave with her after her mother passed.”

“Why have you never told her?”

“I couldn’t! She would hate me! She would blame me for the way they treated her!”

That set something off inside Zoro’s eye, it was like the man had snapped.

He lunged at Zeff and pinned his shoulders to the wall, “She doesn’t understand why you—some random guy—would raise her when her own family didn’t even want her! Sanji thinks she doesn’t deserve anything you’ve done for her!” Zoro let those words sink-in before letting him go to ask, “You really want her to keep thinking like _that?”_

Zeff said nothing, he couldn’t. That was a bombshell he was never prepared for.

Zoro wasn’t done talking, however and began to say, “She told me about singing in your kitchen when her mother was still alive. She told me about how you taught her how to cook, and she’s a damn good cook.” Zoro gave him a warm smile, “She told me about what happened to your leg tonight at dinner. I know that you think she’d blame you, but I think she would be relieved to know her _real_ father cares about her.”

“How did you know?”

He turned to Zoro, looked into his gray eye, “Sanji has the same eyes as you.”

That brought tears to Zeff’s eyes, “That’s what Sora said the day Sanji was born.”

Zoro smiled at him and patted him on his shoulder, “You should come by the dojo tomorrow, we could get lunch—I’ll buy.” Then he stepped away and set the key down on the table near the door. Before he left, he turned back to Zeff and smirked, “See ya, shitty geezer.”

“Hey!” Zeff yelled after him as he slipped out the door, “Get back here you brat!” But Zoro was already gone and Zeff was left with a smile.

_Maybe he isn’t so bad…_

~~~~~~~

Zoro slipped back into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor.

There were so many things running through his mind after learning the truth from Zeff.

He was suspicious since he first noticed his eyes. When he looked at them again in his garage, he knew for sure—those were Sanji’s eyes.

_I can’t tell her. He doesn’t want her to know and it shouldn’t come from me. I’ll just help her in whatever way I can._

The elevator doors opened and Zoro sprinted back out to his car where Sanji was waiting.

When he exited her apartment building, Zoro saw Sanji was not in his car, but leaning against the door, smoking a cigarette.

He’d be a liar if he said she didn’t look sexy. The smoke rushing past her lips into a cloud. The casual flick of her fingers to make the ash fall to the ground. The gentle puckering of her lips as she inhaled the smoke.

_Fuck, she’s sexy…_

As he approached the car, Sanji noticed him and seemed embarrassed as she gestured to the cigarette, “Sorry, I’m stressed.”

Zoro smirked at her and shrugged, then kissed her cheek.

“Did he say something embarrassing?”

He shook his head and his smile grew, “Nah, I just asked him to lunch tomorrow.”

Sanji finished her cigarette and placed the filter back into the box, then looked up at him, “Why would you do that?”

Wasn’t it obvious? “He’s the man who raised you. I want him to like me,” Zoro shrugged his shoulders.

She rolled her eyes, “Whatever, let’s just go.” Sanji hurried into the car and slammed the door closed behind her.

Zoro frowned, feeling defeated.

_What the hell am I supposed to do?_

For now, Zoro settled with getting in the car and listening to Sanji’s directions to get back to the dojo.

When he parked the car in the garage, he killed the engine and turned to Sanji, “You know I love you, right?”

Sanji looked him in the eye, Zoro watched as her anger and frustration left her body, leaving her in a peaceful state of mind, “Yeah, I know.”

Zoro felt satisfied, for now. He took her hand and kissed it, “Should we go upstairs and finish this date?”

She smiled at him with a light blush on her cheeks, “Yeah.”

He smiled back and got out of the car, then walked around to her side and opened the door. As he helped Sanji out, Zoro wondered why he enjoyed doing these things for her. Then he caught a glimpse of her smile.

_That’s why. I love it when she smiles at me like that._

Zoro led her upstairs to the balcony that was past the living room, grabbing a couple of blankets from the couch along the way.

“I didn’t even know this was here,” Sanji sounded impressed.

He smiled at that, happy he could surprise her, then asked, “Do you trust me?”

Sanji looked as beautiful as ever, nodding with a slight blush on her cheeks, “I trust you, Zoro.”

His smile grew wider, “Okay, I’m going to the roof.”

“What?!” Sanji’s voice was instantly filled with confusion, but Zoro ignored it and hoisted himself up onto the roof above the balcony.

“Hand me those blankets,” he called down to Sanji, who thankfully listened.

But she was still stubborn as ever, “I’m not climbing up there, Zoro.”

He rolled his eye, “I know, I’ll lift you up, just come here.” Zoro held out his hand, beckoning for Sanji to come closer.

After a moment of deliberation, Sanji sighed, “Fine, just don’t drop me, marimo.”

Zoro lifted her onto the roof, effortlessly, “I’d never drop you, Sanji.” Then he kissed her cheek and lightly spanked her ass before turning away with a smirk.

He began to spread one of the blankets down on the roof while Sanji was left apparently unable to function. Then he walked back to her side and wrapped the second blanket around their shoulders.

Sanji met his gaze with hesitation, “Why are we on the roof?”

Raising his eyebrow, Zoro led her to the other blanket and they both laid down on their backs. He watched her face closely as she turned up to the night sky and smiled before saying, “I thought it’d be romantic to stargaze together.”

She hummed in acknowledgement, “It _is_ romantic.” Her smile was as gentle as the breeze coming from the sea, but Sanji’s eye shined brighter than any star.

Zoro smiled back at her before turning up to the night sky, “Have you ever seen a shooting star?”

“No, have you?”

He shook his head, “No, never,” Zoro turned to look at Sanji, “But I know what I’d wish for.”

Sanji shifted her gaze from the sky back to him, “What would you wish for?”

The inquisitive look in her eye was enough to make him blush, “Can’t say,” Zoro turned away, “If I tell you it won’t come true.”

She giggled softly and cuddled up next to him, “Come on, you can tell me.”

“Nope.” There was no way Zoro was going to tell her.

“Ugh, fine~” She whined and began to push away from him.

But Zoro wasn’t going to let that happen and pulled her down onto his chest. Her breasts were pressing against him, causing them to spill over the top of her dress.

As his eye wandered across her body, Sanji was beginning to blush, “Oi! Stop looking at me like that!”

He returned his gaze to her eye and complained, “What did I do?”

Sanji pushed herself off him and stared at him in disbelief, “Zoro! I can tell when someone wants to fuck me, you know?”

Zoro suddenly felt ashamed of himself, “Fuck, I’m sorry, Sanj.”

She began to laugh, “Hey, it’s okay, really. I’m just…not used to it.”

When Zoro turned to face her again, Sanji was staring up at the sky.

_How can one person mean so much to me? Does she know that? Sanji knows I love her, but is that enough? Does she know how much better my life is with her in it?_

Finally, Zoro broke the silence between them, “I’d wish for you.” He said the words and watched as she turned to him in surprise, but before she could speak he finished, “That you would always be by my side.”

Sanji opened and closed her mouth. Zoro could tell she was trying to process what he had said, and he let her take her time to finally say, “Oh.”

Zoro furrowed his brow and turned away—upset she hadn’t said more.

“I’d wish for the same thing!” Sanji blurted out.

He turned back to Sanji who was nervously smiling. Before he could open his mouth to say something, she leaned forward and kissed him. There was the faintest taste of nicotine on her breath, but Zoro didn’t mind, he ravaged her just the same.

When their lips broke apart, they were both panting, but Sanji was the first to speak, “Please never leave me—I don’t want to kiss anyone else ever again.”

Zoro groaned and attacked her lips once more, his tongue rubbing against hers as his hands wandered down her sides. He began kissing along her jaw and whispered into her ear, “You’re the only person I’ve ever kissed, Sanj.”

She softly moaned his name, “Zoro~”

He chuckled against her ear, “Yes, baby?”

Sanji’s hand was suddenly stroking his scar across his eye. Zoro turned his gaze to her gorgeous blue eye, “I love you.”

Zoro froze. He instantly was lost in the blue of her eye—more lost than he has ever been in his life. Unable to say any words, Zoro continued showering her with kisses until he finally whispered back, “I love you too.”

 For an unknown amount of time, Zoro and Sanji stayed up on the roof cuddled in each other’s arms under the blanket, looking up at the night sky.

No longer interested in the stars, Zoro focused his attention on Sanji and watched her with a smile as she continued stargazing.

“You are so beautiful, Sanj…” Zoro couldn’t believe that she was shaking her head in disagreement.

“No, I’m not…”

Zoro softly held her face in his hand and gazed into her big, blue eyes, “Yes. You are.”

Her blush was too much to handle. Zoro kissed her forehead then pulled her to his chest.

He knew that Sanji would be able to feel how hard his heart was beating, he could feel hers pounding just as fast. It was oddly calming.

“Zoro?” Sanji’s voice was soft and sweet, calling his name.

“Yeah?”

When he turned to Sanji, he was surprised to see she was crying, “Please don’t leave me.”

Zoro furrowed his brow, “Sanji…” He brought his hand to her cheek and began wiping away her tears, “I could never leave you, baby. You are my whole world.”

Sanji inhaled a shaky breath of air, “Y-you just make me _so happy…”_

“I know, I know…” He was now holding her in his arms against his chest, cradling her body, “You make me happy, too.”

“It’s scary…” Zoro met her gaze again and waited for her to say, “Since I met you, I can’t imagine—” Her voice broke and she began crying harder.

“Shit…” He held her tighter against his chest and soothingly rubbed her back as he whispered, “Quit doing that, baby… I’m not going anywhere and I’m not letting you go anywhere without me.”

As Sanji calmed down in his arms, Zoro felt relieved. He hated seeing Sanji cry, he didn’t want to be the reason behind it. Zoro liked it when she smiled, he wanted her to smile at him again.

“Tell me, what do I have to do to make you realize I want this just as much as you do?”

When Sanji lifted her head from his shoulder, she looked him in the eye and said, “Kiss me.”

Zoro pushed her bangs from her face and cupped her cheeks in his hands, there was a spilt-second where he gazed into her eyes before she closed them, and his lips pressed against hers.

No matter how many times he kisses her, Zoro was certain he’d never get tired of it. Everytime he and Sanji shared a kiss, he felt his heart beat faster and craved more.

This kiss was no exception. As soon as she opened her mouth to him, Zoro pushed his tongue inside and devoured her.

Sanji became a mess of soft moans and whimpers until finally whispering, “Let’s go inside.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. Zoro stood from the roof and helped Sanji gather the blankets before jumping down to the balcony. It was harder to convince Sanji to do the same, “Come on babe, I’ll catch you.”

She sighed in resignation, “Fine, but I’ll fucking _kill you_ if you drop me.”

_Why the fuck does she have to look so sexy when she’s pissed?_

Zoro smirked, “Deal.”

She first threw down the blankets, which Zoro drapped over the railing before turning back to her with open arms. Sanji hopped down from the roof and Zoro caught her with ease.

Instead of setting her down, Zoro adjusted her to one arm and picked up the blankets before carrying them all inside. He ditched the blankets onto the couch, then walked towards their bedroom.

In this moment, Zoro was very grateful Sanji had stopped him from suggesting Zeff stay at the dojo. He definitely didn’t want her father to hear them having sex and he didn’t want to feel like he couldn’t have sex with her just because he was visiting. But none of that mattered, because they had the place to themselves.

Zoro set Sanji down on the center of their bed, then took a step back. She was still wearing that sexy red dress and a pair of strappy heels to match. The longer he looked at her, the more he wanted to fuck her in the damn outfit.

“Zoro?”

Her voice snapped him out of his filty, perverted thoughts. However, one look in Sanji’s eyes and Zoro realized she would probably be down for anything.

He grinned at her and spoke in a low, gravelly voice, “I’m gonna fuck you in that dress.”

Sanji’s breath hitched, Zoro could clearly see her chest rising and falling as she started panting.

“Show me how you touch yourself.”

Her eyes widened, but Sanji said nothing as she rolled onto her back and spread her legs apart. Zoro watched as she pulled her lace underwear down her long legs then hiked her skirt above her hips.

His gaze fell to her hand as her fingers slowly dipped into herself and emerged with clear, slick wetness. Sanji’s fingers began to circle around her clit, pinching and pulling at the sensitive spot. Zoro noticed she was beginning to leak fluid from her hole.

 _“Fuck, Sanj~”_ Zoro ached to touch her.

He gulped and returned his gaze to her face, which was filled with lust, _“Zoro~”_

Unable to wait a moment longer, Zoro climbed onto the bed above her and undid his belt.

_Fuck—I can’t even remember to take off my pants…_

Not wanting to make the effort to remove them at this point, Zoro unzipped his jeans and pulled his cock from his boxers.

Since he was already throbbing, Zoro wasted no time and plunged himself into her hot, tight, wet hole.

_“AAAHH~ ZORO!”_

He groaned at the incredible sensation of being completely inside her. Zoro didn’t dare move in fear of cuming on the spot. Sanji didn’t seem to mind, still getting used to his size, and for that he was grateful.

Zoro leaned close enough to kiss her, beginning with her forehead, then moving to her nose and cheeks, before finally her lips. Then he began to pull his hips back, _“Fuck~”_

Sanji felt so incredible, squeezing around him. Zoro made a quick decision and pulled himself out, then picked Sanji up around her waist as he climbed off the bed. Without any hesitation, he turned Sanji around and pushed her chest into the mattress, so her ass was sticking out behind her.

The sight of her submitting to him like this was a crazy turn-on for Zoro. He loved that she was into this kind of thing just as much as he was. He smacked his palm across her delectable ass, earning a gasp from Sanji, _“Aaah!”_

Zoro hummed with approval, “This is what you get for wearing such a sexy outfit and leaving for work without letting me kiss you.”

He linded himself up with her entrance and slammed himself inside. Sanji cried out a long moan, then he rocked his hips back and repeated the action. His hands were tightly gripping her hips, probably hard enough he’d leave a bruise—but Zoro wasn’t worried about that.

With his jaw clenched he pounded into her from behind, loving every second of it as Sanji screamed about how good it all felt.

_“Oh~ Zoro~ FUCK! HARDER! I need it ha—AAHHH~”_

It was surprising he was lasting this long, but Zoro managed to keep himself from cuming thus far. He was mostly using his arm strength to fuck her to oblivion, that allowed him to pull her harder and harder against his thrusts.

 _“Shit, Sanj you’re so fucking wet…”_ Zoro could feel it dripping onto him, _“You have no idea how sexy you are.”_

_“Uuuuhh~ Zo~ro~”_

He took a long, deep breath and thrust into her one last time, grumbling as he came, _“Sanji~”_

Pleasure rushed through his body, his nerve-endings were singing their praises, just like the woman he was incapable of living without.

_“Oh~ Zoro~ I love~ I love…you!”_

With his eye tightly shut, Zoro groaned, _“Fuck! Sanji, I love you too!”_

He could feel her quivering around his cock. Zoro felt so sensitive, he was trying his hardest to stay still and prevent something horrible from happening—like his dick falling off.

Sanji didn’t seem to have the same thing in mind. She suddenly tightened her walls around him and pushed her hips back against his.

Zoro could feel warm cum squeezing between their bodies as it leaked out of Sanji. The urge to fuck her again was incredibly strong. He inhaled sharply, this wasn’t what he was expecting to happen.

But Sanji seemed to be asking for it, as she continued to move her hips in a sensual way, his erection still inside her, still hard as steel.

“Fuck, woman!” He groaned and tightened his grip on her hips, “Quit movin’ so much!”

She made a high-pitched noise and whined, _“But Zoro~!”_

He clenched his teeth and closed his eye in annoyance. Zoro did _not_ like it when _anyone_ whined like this. It reminded him of Luffy—the guy was his best friend, but he could be really whiny and annoying when he got hungry, which was _all the time._ Zoro was the type of guy who believed the only way to get what you wanted was with hard work and dedication—not whining.

When he opened his eye, he was reminded that this was not Luffy whining about wanting food, but Sanji—his girlfriend—wanting him to keep treating her like a sex object.

_Would there be anything wrong with that…?_

Zoro never had a sex life before Sanji, so far, he had mostly done things on instinct or curiousity and acted out the personal fantasies he suddenly begun to imagine after he met her. Most were thoughts about ways he could completely dominate Sanji, have her submit to him, and having the blonde writhing from his touch…

He didn’t see why he couldn’t treat her a certain way during sex and then treat her differently the rest of the time… Zoro liked being able to surprise Sanji, in whatever way he could…

After taking a deep, calming breath, Zoro pulled out of Sanji, tugging on her hair to pull her from the mattress so she was flush against his chest. He kept a tight grip on her hair as he dangerously growled next to her ear, _“What did I say about whining, Sanji?”_

This gained the desired effect; Sanji’s breath hitched and Zoro could feel her trembling against his body—she was turned on.

Zoro grinned to himself, then nibbled on her ear, licking the outer shell and scratching it with his teeth. Before he got further carried away, he huskily whispered, _“Take that dress off. Now.”_ This was taking way too long for Zoro’s tastes, _“Do it before I rip it off.”_

Sanji began to shift her body against him, Zoro let go of her hair and eagerly watched as she removed the fucking dress that started all this.

He started undoing the buttons of his shirt, eye still on Sanji as she was unzipping the back of her red dress. Zoro licked his lips as he was removing his arms from the sleeves of his shirt, Sanji had freed her breasts from the confines of the dress. The jeans and boxers he wore were pushed further down his hips until they were pooled at his feet, same with Sanji’s dress at hers.

Zoro’s gaze lifted from the floor, up Sanji’s impossibly long legs—considering how short she is—and the dramatic curve of her hips and thin waist. He lingered on her breasts, Sanji’s pink nipples were hard despite the fact he hadn’t touched them. When he met her gaze, Zoro gulped.

One of her blue eyes was staring lustfully at him—as if nothing else mattered.

He couldn’t resist.

Beginning to crack a smile, Zoro managed to at least be smug about it and took a step forward, out of his clothes, and closer to Sanji. His heart was pounding in his chest as he leaned in to capture her lips, the moment they touched everything felt complete.

His mind was at peace. Kissing Sanji felt so _right._ There wasn’t anything like it, and Zoro knew that it would be all _wrong_ if it were anyone else.

“I want all of you,” he broke away from her lips, panting.

“Huh?” Sanji had the audacity to be confused—in a moment like this!

That was frustrating, Zoro groaned in irritation, “I _want_ you, Sanji.”

She rolled her eyes and huffed, “Well then _take_ me!”

Zoro’s lips culred into a predatory smile. It all felt very similar to the rush before going into a match. In a way it _was_ a match to Zoro; Sanji was his partner and the goal was to get your partner to cum as much as possible before stamina ran out. And not to brag, but Zoro had a pretty high stamina.

He wasn’t going to waste any more time. Zoro dropped to his knees and situated himself right between Sanji’s thighs.

 _“Fuck, Sanj~”_ He leaned closer to her dripping cunt and lapped up the cum spilling from her. Zoro could taste the difference between Sanji’s and his own, there was a lot of his own. But as he was licking around her lips, Sanji had become aroused and started leaking more of hers.

If Sanji’s fingers gripping and tugging on his hair weren’t indication enough, Sanji was also moaning, _“Mmmm uuuhh~ Zoro~ Zoro~ Fuck! That feels—shit! I-I… I can’t…”_ she was holding her breath for a moment before crying out, _“OH~ FUCK!”_

She was shaking, her legs began to give out, but Zoro easily tossed her legs over his shoulders and held her body up with his arms.

He managed to find his way to the bed where he laid Sanji down on her back. Still between her legs and on the floor, Zoro was cleaning up after her latest orgasm. There was very little of his own taste remaining, and he found it disheartening—he was no longer lingering inside her…

Zoro plunged two of his fingers into her pussy and started a brutal rhythm, pumping his fingers with more force than what was really necessary.

But fuck, if Sanji didn’t like it she was an amazing actress.

The only sounds coming from Sanji were loud moans and whimpers. She wasn’t even able to form words let alone a _sentence._ There _was_ one word she had taken quite a liking to, however.

_“ZORO!”_

His name.

_“Zoro~ Zoro… Zoro! Zoro, Zoro~ ZORO!!!”_

With his fingers covered in her cunt’s juices, Zoro decided it was time to move along… He slid them down until he reached her other hole—the one nobody else has touched.

Sanji’s breath hitched and he felt the tight ring of muscle clench under his fingertips.

He released his own breath and silently asked for permission as he lightly circled his finger around her puckering hole.

 _“Nuuuhh~”_ Sanji’s cunt was secreting more of her glistening juices as he teased her asshole.

Zoro knew she liked it but didn’t want to overstep into boundaries he had yet to discover. All of this was new to Zoro; he didn’t have any previous experience to learn from. Sanji was his first and he desperately wanted to be her last, Zoro couldn’t afford to fuck this up somehow.

That’s why he was patient—well as much as he could be—Zoro was only a man afterall and had his limitations. He wanted to learn about Sanji’s.

Unable to wait any longer, Zoro asked, “Can I finger your ass?”

Sanji groaned, _“Fuck~ Zoro~ YES!”_

He chuckled, happy to have that question answered, then began to push his first digit into her lubricated asshole. It was always a plesant surprise to feel how tight, yet pliable it was as he pushed himself further inside.

Then Sanji tensed up and sucked him deeper, causing her to cry out, _“Oh shit!”_

Zoro remained calm and tried to relax Sanji by kissing the inside of her knee. “Relax, I won’t hurt you.”

Almost immediately, Sanji’s anus loosened up, but Zoro continued to kiss her leg as he started to circle his finger around inside her.

 _“Mmmm…”_ By the sound of it, Sanji was enjoying what he was doing to her.

If it wasn’t for how shaky his breath was, Zoro wouldn’tve noticed how nervous he felt.

_You’ve already done this, you dumbass! Fuck!_

Zoro furrowed his brow in determination and pushed a second finger inside her anus.

Sanji inhaled a sharp breath of air and tensed for a moment, but it quickly subsided, and she began to moan, _“Fuck! Zoro~ That feels soo~ good~ Fuck…”_

Her voice trailed off, then she was only making noices of pleasure as he was scissoring his fingers to loosen up her tight hole. Zoro smirked, mostly to himself, and decided to indulge himself with dirty talk, “You know…” He slowly began to add a third finger as he continued, “I really would love to fuck you here.”

She was a mess of moans as he was pumping three of his thick fingers into her asshole, Zoro wondered if she even realized how much she could take up her ass… It was a sight to behold.

 _“UUUHH~ Fuuu-fucking do it! Do it, Zoro! Fuck me in the ass!”_ Sanji was sitting up enough that he could see her blue eye staring at him, pleading with him, _“Please, Zoro… Please…”_

“Fuck~” He closed his eye and honestly asked, “Do I… Do I need to do anything?”

Sanji didn’t seem to appreciate his considerateness and yelled at him, “I swear to fucking god, Zoro! Use your moss-brain and figure it fucking out! I don’t know! I’ve never done this! This is new territory for me, but fuck—whatever the hell you are doing feels soo~ fucking good! I want more! So fucking _fuck me already!”_

Zoro had stopped prodding his fingers around in her ass and pulled them out. He stood from the floor at the edge of the bed and gazed down at Sanji with what he hoped was a neutral expression upon his face. Then he raised his hand to his face and closed his eye and he breathed-in her lingering scent.

 _“Fucking hell…”_ He heard Sanji whisper, but Zoro didn’t pay her any mind.

He smirked as he opened his eye and saw Sanji’s blush, Zoro decided he’d tease her before giving her what she wanted, “Someone~ seems eager to have my cock up her ass.”

Sanji narrowed her gaze and retorted, “It’s _your_ fault! I’ve never done it and I’ll try anything during sex!”

_Now that’s very interesting…_

“Well, okay then, curly brow.” Zoro wouldn’t waste any more time.

Before Sanji could get angry about the nickname, Zoro rubbed his cock over her slick lips and plunged into her pussy. He pulled out after a couple hard thrusts, then pulled himself out and lined himself up with her stretched asshole.

There was the slightest moment of hesitation from Zoro; he was a little concerned he would hurt her. He never had done this before, either. Zoro glanced up at her face—which was filled with anticipation—then focused on where he was about to shove his dick.

When he started pressing his head into Sanji’s hole, Zoro immediately knew this was going to be a fucking bitch to get his entire dick into. It was going to be agonizingly painful for Sanji if he did this slow and steady, so he did her a favor and made it quick. As soon as he was past her tight entrance, Zoro held onto her hips and pushed himself all the way in.

 _“AAAAAAH~”_ Sanji’s cry rang through the bedroom—probably the whole dojo.

Zoro felt like an asshole himself. He immediately lowered himself, closing the distance between them even further, to pepper her with kisses.

He knew it hurt, but he didn’t know how much. All Zoro could do was try and ease the pain.

But fuck, Sanji was crying.

_Fuck!_

Zoro felt so much worse. He began to wipe away her tears, “Shhh, baby… Sanji, please forgive me.” Fuck, he wished he knew more about this type of shit.

“Why…did you,” Sanji was still crying, “Do that?!”

“I thought it would be worse to make it last forever. I’m sorry,” he frowned as he brushed her hair from her face, “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

Sanji began to shake her head, “No-no! I’m fine! I’ll be fine…” Her voice trailed off and she took a deep breath, her hands resting on Zoro’s arms.

They both stayed like that for a moment, unmoving, until finally Sanji fidgeted beneath him, “Oi, marimo.”

He rolled his eye, “What?”

When he glanced back at her face, he saw she had her curly eyebrow raised in expectation. “Well, are you going to start moving or should I kick you out?”

Zoro huffed in annoyance and adjusted himself into a better positin to fuck her in, “Ready?”

That’s when Sanji rolled her eyes and shook her head, “I swear to god, marimo… Use your brain.”

_That is fucking it!_

He rolled his hips back and thrust himself forward, then began to set a steady pace that he would probaby be capable of keeping for a considerable amount of time with ease. Zoro had tried to be considerate of Sanji, but she didn’t want him to be considerate during sex—she wanted him to _fuck_ her.

He was wondering what was wrong with all the men who had left this woman. Zoro could be pretty stupid, but he wasn’t stupid enough to give up someone like Sanji once he has her. Part of him wanted to believe that it wasn’t always the other guy leaving her and that Sanji had left some too, but why else would she be so terrified of the thought of him leaving?

Maybe it was because he meant something more to her than the other men she’s been with. The fact she trusted him enough to do something like this certainly proved it.

 _“Aaaahh~”_ Sanji’s whole body shook with his last thrust.

Zoro licked his lips and stared down at her wide-open mouth. He tried his best to hit the same spot with his next thrust…

 _“F-Fuck!”_ She convulsed around him, Sanji began clinging against his arms, _“Fuck, Zoro, Fuck! That feels so fucking good! Please don’t stop! Keep doing that! Oh my god, Zoro~ please, fuck, please don’t fucking stop!”_

That was an order he couldn’t refuse. Zoro happily began to thrust himself up inside Sanji’s stretched asshole and aimed for that same spot everytime. Since he knew how much Sanji liked having her clit touched, he slipped one of his hands down and began to rub her sensitive bud to hopefully bring her more pleasure.

 _“AAAAA—”_ Sanji’s cry suddenly made no noise, her cries of pleasure were mute until finally she gasped for air.

Zoro wanted to scold her and tell her she shouldn’t forget to breathe, but he wasn’t one to talk—he wasn’t the one with a dick up their ass. Plus, it made him feel pretty good—being able to create that kind of reaction from the woman—a boost of confidence.

He couldn’t help himself; Zoro began to finger Sanji as well as fuck her in the ass. He was already rubbing her clit, so it was easy to adjust. And Sanji fucking loved it.

_“Yes~ Oh my god, yes, Zoro~ yes! Finger me harder~ I want to feel more of you inside of me… I can’t get enough of you~”_

Music to his ears.

Oh man, he thought he liked listening to her singing love songs and shit, but no—all Zoro wanted to hear Sanji sing from now on were praises.

It was as he began to finger her that he knew he was going to cum soon. He wanted to warn her, _“Sanj~”_ His voice was rough and dry, _“I’m gonna cum…”_

_“Mmmm… Rub my clit harder, Zoro~”_

He did as he was told, because if there _were_ any rules to this game, it was to only do what your partner wanted. Right now, Sanji wanted him to rub her clit harder—so he did it.

And just like in his fantasites, Sanji was quivering under his touch, not out or fear but out of pleasure. They came together, called each other’s name during their climax.

Zoro knew Sanji was special. He never met someone he was this… _drawn to._

They were once again sitting in the hot bath together. Zoro was rinsing the shampoo from Sanji’s hair, admiring the length. Absentmindedly he asked, “Why do you always wear your hair up?”

Sanji chuckled softly, “Why? Do you like it when it’s down?”

He rolled his eye, “Obviously, now answer the damn question.”

She shrugged, “It gets in the way, plus it could get in people’s food if I wore it down at work.”

“Well what about here?” He asked, “Why don’t you wear it down here?”

Sanji turned around to face him and casually stated, “I guess I can do that.”

Zoro smiled, pleased with her answer. He watched her hands lather her wet hair with conditioner, something he never used since he had short hair. She began to comb through it and her fingers began to pull out long strands of her hair.

He furrowed his eyebrows, slightly disgusted, but mostly concered, “Why is your hair coming out like that?”

“Hmm?” Sanji hummed in earnest, then looked at all the hair in her fist, “Oh, this is nothing.”

The way she brushed it off casually made Zoro feel even more worried, “Are you sure? Is that normal?”

Sanji was staring at him with a bewildered look in her eyes, “Yeah, it’s normal—happens all the time. That’s what happens when you have long hair—it’s a miracle I’m not bald.”

Zoro mulled over her words, she seemed to think _he_ was the one who was insane…so it must really be normal…weird.

He helped her rinse that from her hair as well, then they both got out of the tub.

They got ready for bed, brushed their teeth and flossed. Sanji put some kind of moisturizer on her face that was supposed to prevent her from getting wrinkles, but Zoro didn’t understand why she was worried about something like that.

“You think I’m beautiful, right?” She had asked.

“Yes, of course—you’re gorgeous,” he clarified.

“Well, then don’t question my methods, moss-head!” Then she kicked him out of the bathroom.

And that was how he ended up on the bed waiting for Sanji to come join him.

She took forever to come to bed the night before, too. Zoro was thinking about getting up and seeing what was taking her so long, but then he felt her cuddling up next to him, “Sorry for taking so long, I hope you are still awake.”

He opened his eye, not realizing he had closed it, and smiled at Sanji’s makeup-free face, “It’s okay.” Now that his arms were wrapped around her, Zoro was no longer concerned with how long it took.

Her hair smelled nice, so Zoro buried his nose in the now dry strands and inhaled the scent. This only made Sanji blush, “Quit that!”

Zoro laughed and nuzzled his nose deeper into her hair, then shook his head.

Sanji groaned in frustration, “Damnit, marimo… Why do you do this shit to me?”

He moved his mouth to whisper in her ear, “Because I love everything about you, and that includes the way you smell.”

Her breath hitched and Sanji turned to look at him with a deadly glare, “Fucking _stop…_ I can’t—"

Zoro was smirking in amusement. Sanji’s cheeks were bright red and looked _soo cute…_

She huffed in annoyance and buried her face into the crook of his neck, mumbling, “You smell good, too.”

_She better… I just took a bath!_

Instead of teasing her even further, Zoro decided to let it go and was happy she liked how he smelled.

Before he got too comfortable and fell asleep, he wanted to know, “Did you like our first date?”

Sanji groaned into his neck as he combed his fingers through her silky blonde hair, “I don’t think people usually have sex on the first date.”

He chuckled at that, “Yeah, probably not…” Zoro looked down at the woman in his arms, “But I didn’t think we were normal to begin with.”

Thankfully, Sanji wasn’t offended by what he said and giggled, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She sighed and snuggled up closer to his chest, resting her head on his pectoral, “I had a nice time.”

Zoro hummed in agreement and kissed the top of her head, “Me too.”

They both stayed like that, holding the other as close as possible, neither saying a word until Sanji turned up to kiss his jaw, “I love you, Zoro.”

A smile formed on his lips, “I love you too, Sanji.”

It didn’t take long before they were both peacefully asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! I wasn't initially expecting to have Zeff show up yet in the story, but it happened and I think it will work just fine.   
> Not quite sure when the next chapter will be out, probably not for awhile (At least it won't be if I stop procrastinating and do the stuff I should instead of writing fanfiction...) I can't help myself, this is much too fun.  
> Anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter! I'm curious to hear any thoughts about Zeff and Sanji's relationship or whatever else is on your mind!  
> Thanks for reading, you are all wonderful :)  
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	17. Getting 'things' in Order

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
> 
> Shorter chapter, but I think it's got substance...

Leaving his daughter’s apartment, Zeff found himself on his way to meet-up with her boyfriend for lunch.

It was… Weird? Strange? Unbelievable? All those things and more.

Zeff had never felt more on-edge about something in his entire life.

This was something he was never prepared for: having lunch with one of Sanji’s boyfriends. Zeff had always hated the idea of Sanji dating and threatened all the boys who took an interest in her whilst growing up. Once she left for college he didn’t care as much because she didn’t live with him and it has been that way ever since. He never had met the one who cheated on her—if he did he’d kick the bastard’s ass. Since Zeff dispised the idea of Sanji being with someone, he would point out all their short-comings to prove they didn’t deserve to be with her.

The problem with Zoro was his lack of problems. Zeff actually _liked_ him—which was insane! Afterall, he was supposed to _hate_ the very idea of his daughter being with someone, but for whatever reason he didn’t feel that way about Zoro. It was obvious from talking with both Sanji and Zoro that they cared about each other—in ways that Zeff himself once knew long ago.

No one knew that Sanji was biologically his daughter. That was something Zeff never told anyone. When he left the north with Sanji as a young child, Zeff had decided to put the past behind him. He never expected someone to _notice_ or _catch-on._

Maybe it had something to do with Zoro _knowing,_ that made Zeff decide to accept his invitation for lunch. Afterall, he was the first person he told his secret to.

_It’s my obligation to take care of our daughter, especially after Sora passed… I couldn’t let her grow up like that—being treated unfairly because she was MY daughter. It was my fault she was treated like that… We were lucky Judge let her live… But Sora…_

Zeff inhaled a shakey breath of air as he arrived outside of the dojo. There were many things he had no idea how to explain to his daughter, but the reason her mother died was at the top of the list. He walked through the front door and went inside the dojo, and immediately spotted Zoro talking with someone he assumed was a student.

Zoro took notice of him and clapped the man on the arm, “Anyway, good work today, Daz. I’ll see you next week.” The man, Daz, silently agreed and made his way out. After Zeff took a few steps in his direction, Zoro called over to him, “Hey Zeff, you mind if I shower before we go?”

He scowled, “I guess not.” He found it odd to be called his first name, more used to being called an old man or geezer by Sanji.

“Alright then, you want to come upstairs?” Zoro asked with sincerity.

Zeff raised his unkept brow, “Is that where you live?”

The green-haired man nodded, “Yeah, come on, I’ll get you a drink.”

He couldn’t say no to that. Zeff followed Zoro to the back of the dojo and up a flight of stairs.

As far as Zeff was concerned, the place was considerably nicer than Sanji’s tiny apartment. There was a living room to the left of the entrance and the kitchen was to the right. On the dinner table was a large boquet of yellow and blue flowers.

Before Zeff could say anything, Zoro beat him to it, “One of my new students owns a flower shop. I got those for Sanji there.”

He huffed in affirmation, unable to find any words to say. Although he had to admit that buying his daughter a beautiful boquet of flowers resembling her appearance was a good way to earn brownie points.

Zoro pulled out what Zeff knew to be an expensive bottle of whiskey and poured a glass for him, “Here, make yourself comfortable. I’ll be ten minutes.”

Again, Zeff was left speechless from the man’s actions and watched as he made his way down the hall and into a room.

_What the hell?_

Instead of thinking about the strange politeness of Zoro, he decided to drink the alcohol he had poured him and savored the taste. The fine alcohol earned Zoro some more brownie points from Zeff—he had to give the man credit where credit was due.

Zeff ended up walking around to the living room and noticed a couple of photos on the wall. At closer inspection, he recognized one of the girls in a group photo to be Sanji’s friend Nami; she was very young, probably ten years old, but Zeff could tell it was her.

_So, he grew up with Nami, then…_

In another frame was a family picture featuring a scrawny-looking Zoro, a slightly-less-scrawny older sister with black hair, and a man wearing glasses with long black hair neatly tied back. The third was of Zoro in a graduation cap and gown with the same group of friends from the other photo. They were all older, though he noticed Zoro was the only one in the group who graduated that year.

Zeff looked around some more, but quickly realized there wasn’t much else to look at. Luckily, that was when Zoro came back down the hallway, “You ready to go, broccoli?”

The look of pure annoyance on Zoro’s face was priceless, “You and Sanji are so alike.”

_Woah._

He was not expecting that, Zeff scowled, “Let’s just go, brat.”

Zoro rolled his eye and muttered, “Exactly the same.”

Zeff didn’t know what that was all about, but he didn’t ask. He didn’t say anything to Zoro as they got in his car and began to drive off. The only reason Zeff finally caved-in was because they were driving in circles.

“Jesus Christ! You’ve driven past that place _four_ times!” Zeff yelled, breaking the silence that separated them, “No wonder Sanji told you where to go last night!”

The man turned beet red and pulled into a parking space, but before he could turn and say anything, Zeff got out of the car.

For whatever reason, Zeff couldn’t help but feel like he had overreacted.

Zoro easily caught up with him on the way to the restaurant, “Sorry… I get… Lost. Sometimes.”

Zeff gave him a sideways glance and began to laugh, brushing it off, “Well you can’t be good at everything, can you?”

He received a blank stare from Zoro, who seemed to give his words some thought. Zeff figured it would do the man some good to use his brain.

They were seated at a table for two and handed their menus after entering the restaurant. It was a rather nice place, Zeff had to give him more brownie points for taking him to a decent place to eat.

Glancing across the table for the first time since they arrived, Zeff saw that Zoro had been waiting for this before he spoke, “Look.” Then Zoro rubbed his jaw in consideration, “I know you must have questions about me or what my intentions are with your daughter—”

“Stop.” Zeff held up his hand, “Let’s at least order first.”

Zoro was effectively silenced and began to look over his menu.

They both decided to get the house special, a sirloin steak with mashed potatoes and gravy, and steamed veggies.

When the waiter was gone, Zoro started again, “As I was saying, I’m sure there are things you would like you ask me. Feel free to do so.”

Zeff took a long drink from the glass of water in front of him, then pulled on his long, braided mustache, “Did you tell her?”

“No, it’s not my place,” Zoro’s gray eye was piercing into his own, “I still think you should tell her, though.”

He appreciated that Zoro knew what he had meant, without needing to outright say it. Zeff sighed, “It’s not that simple. If I told her that, I would have to explain to her things that she’s better off not knowing.”

_Sanji can’t know about her mother…_

Zoro’s fist came down onto the table, effectively surprising Zeff who granted him his full attention, “She deserves to know the truth!” Zoro’s eye was filled not with anger or rage, but with passion, “I don’t need to know your reasons for not telling her, but I know you are important to Sanji and she wouldn’t hate you.”

Zeff sighed, “That’s not what I’m worried about. I’m not sure how to explain what happened with her mother and I… It was—”

“If you’re going to tell anyone about this, it should be Sanji. I’m not going to tell her this stuff. You clearly were close with her mother, and I know she meant a lot to Sanji—I think she would be thrilled to learn more about her.” Zoro was sincere in every sense of the word, “But honestly, this isn’t why I wanted to have lunch with you.”

He looked up at him, startled, “Huh? Then why did you want to have lunch?”

Zoro scratched the back of his head, he appeared to be nervous, “Well, you see, I—”

The waiter returned with their food and set their plates down on the table, “Can I get you anything else?”

“Uh, no thanks,” Zoro began cutting into his steak and Zeff followed suit, completely forgetting that Zoro was about to say something until he resumed, “I was going to say that I wanted us to get to know each other better.”

Zeff continued cutting up his steak, “What does Sanji think about this?”

Zoro shrugged his shoulders, nonchalant, “Well, she had hinted that I’d need your approval.”

“My approval for what?” Zeff asked, oblivious.

“To marry her.”

Zeff dropped his silverware, the metal clanging down on the porcelain and glanced up at the man across from him, speechless.

“I know that we haven’t been together for very long, but the more that time goes on, the more I fall in love with her.” Zoro’s eye was determined and his voice was steady, “Sanji is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Zeff clenched his fist, those words rang true for them both.

“I’ve never felt this way about anyone before—Sanji is the first. I can only imagine how protective you are of her because of how gorgeous she is,” Zoro groaned in frustration, “I can’t believe she doesn’t realize it!”

Raising his eyebrow, Zeff was amused by Zoro’s obvious irritation.

“I mean, she’s _your_ daughter, of course you know how pretty and amazing she is,” he sighed in resignation, “But who am I kidding—there’s no way you’d want someone like me to marry your daughter.”

“Why would you think something like that?” Zeff picked up his silverware and began to eat.

Zoro was frozen, stuck staring at Zeff in shock, “Because although you don’t know me, you seem to hate my very existance.”

Zeff began to laugh, “You aren’t completely wrong.” He took another bite of food and chewed before thoughtfully saying, “I hate imagining Sanji having a shitty boyfriend. Like that last guy, what’s his name?”

“Law.”

“Yeah, him.” Zeff continued eating and swallowed, “I’d like to kick that guy’s ass for what he did.”

Zoro smirked, “I punched him in the face.”

Zeff’s eyes widened in astonishment, “Did you really?” He nodded and Zeff grinned, “Well, good. The man deserved it.”

“Yeah he did,” Zoro said, smugly.

“I saw you had pictures up at your place with Nami,” he wondered what Zoro’s opinion of the girl was, “So you grew up with that brat?”

The green-haired man groaned in agony, “Oh don’t get me _started…_ That woman made my life a living hell all throughout high school.”

He laughed at that, “I can only imagine… The first time I met her she tried to get a free meal at my restaurant just for being friends with Sanji.”

Zoro snorted, “Sounds just like that witch. She used to charge two-hundred precent interest on loans she gave.”

Zeff chuckled, it sounded like something that girl would do. He asked curiously, “So, were you at that engagement party then?”

After he took a drink of water, Zoro nodded his head, “Yeah, that’s when Sanji and I met. Nami kinda set us up, actually.”

“Oh, did she now?” That was rather interesting to Zeff. Although Nami was a pain in the ass, she was one of the first real friends Sanji ever made. If Nami approved of Zoro being with Sanji, that said a lot.

“Yeah, it’s stupid, really… Nami had been telling me to go to _All Blue_ since it opened, but of course I didn’t want to listen to her because I’m stubborn, so I never went there until last week.” Zoro had a sad smile as he said, “It’s too bad we didn’t meet sooner.”

Zeff didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t used to talking to _anyone_ like this, a deep and meaningful conversation. It was strange to have it with his daughter’s boyfriend; but no matter how strange it may be, Zeff didn’t entirely mind it. As they continued to eat together in peaceful silence, Zeff found himself enjoying Zoro’s company.

When they were finished with their food, Zeff looked him in the eye and said, “I don’t hate you, Zoro. In fact, I like you quite a bit.” He took a deep breath, “If anyone were to marry Sanji, I’d want it to be you.”

The look on Zoro’s face was incredibly endearing—smiling like he was just told the most incredible news. Zoro tried to cover it with his hand, but eventually gave up and returned his smiling gaze to Zeff, “So, I have your blessing?”

He nodded his head, “Just don’t make me regret it.”

Zoro’s eye grew wide, then assured, “You won’t.”

Zeff grunted, he wouldn’t say it out loud, but he had complete faith in Zoro—it was the reason he agreed in the first place. The idea of Sanji getting married was one that had left a bad taste in his mouth, there wasn’t anyone worthy of his daughter. Zoro was different.

When Sanji was growing up, there had been boys who looked at her the wrong way and Zeff was always sure to make them regret it. As Zoro had said, Sanji is gorgeous and received attention because of it, whether she realized it or not. She got her looks from her mother, but more of Zeff’s personality since he was the one who raised her. None of the boys he had reprimanded over the years had a drop of the courage or integrity Zoro had.

He meant it when he said there was no one else he’d want to marry his daughter. Zoro was the first and only man who treated not only himself, but his daughter with the utmost respect. Knowing that this man had caused his daughter so much happiness and that she meant something to him in return… It made him feel at peace.

“How soon do you plan on asking her?” Zeff found it a reasonable question to be asked, considering they had only known each other for what, two weeks?

Zoro’s gray eye glanced up at Zeff from the rim of his water glass, “I dunno… Still need to get a ring. I—I wanted to talk to you about it before I did anything.”

With curiousity, Zeff asked, “Why’d you want to do that?”

“Well—I wasn’t really expecting to meet you so soon—Sanji had said she wanted me to meet you, and I knew how she felt about me getting your approval…” Zoro was rubbing at the back of his neck, “I honestly didn’t know what to expect from what Sanji’s told me about you.”

Zeff scoffed, “That brat.” Who knows what kind of rubbish she spewed about him when he wasn’t around. But if he was being honest, Sanji was one of the people who understood him best—even if she didn’t know who he really was.

Seeming to realize Zeff was mulling around in his thoughts, Zoro blurted out, “How soon is too soon?” When Zeff gave him a puzzled look in response, he elaborated, “To ask her to marry me?”

Then it clicked, and Zeff was reminded of the present. He gave Zoro’s question some thought before concluding, “I have no idea.”

Zoro’s eager expression fell, “Huh?”

“Ask Nami,” he offered, which seemed to give back some of the spark in Zoro’s eye.

“That’s not a bad idea…” Zoro became lost in thought as the waiter returned with their bill. As promised, Zoro paid and Zeff found himself wondering about his financial situation.

Clearing his throat to gain Zoro’s attention, Zeff honestly asked, “Do you do okay?”

Thankfully, Zoro seemed to understand his question and began to look smug, “Yeah, you could say that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Zeff spat back in irritation.

Zoro chuckled, lightheartedly and shrugged, “I don’t really need to work, got enough money.”

Zeff understood the implication—that for whatever reason, Zoro was sitting on a pile of cash. He wondered if Sanji knew about this, but even if she did, he knew that wasn’t why she was interested in Zoro.

As if reading his thoughts, Zoro suddenly said, “I don’t think Sanji knows, I don’t really act like I’ve got money. I live simply.”

“She doesn’t care about money.” Zeff felt the need to reassure Zoro, “Sanji knows that money isn’t the answer to everything.” Unfortunately, she learned that at an early age; there were lots of things Sanji learned when she was too young, like the wretchedness of other humans. Zeff had tried to lessen that burden by keeping certain things to himself.

Again, seeming to read him, Zoro asked, “When will you tell her?”

He looked up and caught his eye, but Zeff could give no answer.

Zoro became more insistant, “Sanji deserves to know the truth and she deserves to hear it from you.”

“It’s not that simple, Zoro.” He hoped by using his name, he could get through to him, “Her mother and I had an affair, she had four other kids and a husband—” Zeff’s voice broke on the word. Judge had always been terrible, thinking about him even now made him see red.

“It’s really complicated, isn’t it?” Zoro asked in resignation.

With a loud sigh, Zeff admitted, “It makes my head spin just thinking about it.”

They got up from the table and began making their way out of the restaurant. Zoro didn’t seem to have a clue where he was going, so Zeff led them back in the direction of where he parked his car.

Remembering how bad the man was with directions, Zeff told Zoro the way back to the dojo.

~~~~~~~~~~~

**Hey, are you free to talk?**

The text from Zoro was unexpected to say the very least, and Nami knew the fastest way to find out was to call him herself.

After a single ring, he answered, “Nami! Oh my god, you’ll never believe this—Zeff said I can marry Sanji!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa… Hold on, Zoro. I swear the last time I talked to you, which was only a few days ago, I told you to ease up! And how on earth did you meet Zeff?! What the hell is going on?!”

Zoro was laughing without a care in the world on the other end of the call, “Sorry—I just—I’m so happy!”

She put aside the papers of a property listing she was working on and turned to the old photo she had of her nakama that sat on her desk, “As glad as I am to hear that, I would still like to know what happened.”

The man talking to her over the phone was nothing like the little boy in the photograph who was barely smiling, “I dunno where to begin! I guess on Sunday after we talked… Sanji and I ran into each other at the grocery store, after we had lunch we went to her place to grab some stuff. She fucking hates it there, it reminds her of Law and she’s happier at my place, so I convinced her to stay with me.”

“Okay, so you two are living together now?” Her tone was filled with curiosity and interest.

“Yes and no. She still has most of her stuff at her apartment, but she hasn’t gone back there since we brought over some clothes and bathroom stuff on Sunday.” Zoro sounded a little bummed out, “I didn’t want to overwhelm her, so I suggested it.”

“Huh,” Nami was surprised Zoro was so thoughtful, “So how’d you meet Zeff?”

He made an awkward choking noise then cleared his throat, “He saw us making out.”

Nami roared with laughter, “Oh my _GOD!”_ Even Nami would’ve paid to see something like that, “So what’d he do?!”

Zoro sighed, “Uh, nothing really. He yelled at Sanji for not telling him she had a boyfriend, but once she told him she was happy he kinda shut up.”

“Well that is surprising.”

“What is?”

“All of it,” she shrugged, even though she knew Zoro couldn’t see it, “Zeff usually doesn’t like any guy that talks or looks at Sanji. I’m surprised he didn’t attack you.”

Zoro’s laughter was so loud she had to pull the phone away from her ear, “Nah, he wouldn’t do that to me, we’re cool.”

Nami was confused, “Do we know the same Zeff?”

He laughed again, “Probably not.”

“Okay… I’m not going to even pretend to know what _that_ means,” she let out an exasperated sigh, “So Zeff likes you? Is that why you brought up wanting to marry her to him?”

“I would’ve told him about it either way, but yeah I guess you could say he likes me.”

She shook her head, “You’re an idiot. I hope you realize that.”

He scoffed, “What? She said before that Zeff would have to say it’s okay, so I did that.”

“Do you even remember the conversation we had on Sunday, Zoro? I just hope you realize this all might freak Sanji out even more.”

The silence on the other end of the line was dragging on for far too long, Nami was about to say something, but then she heard a soft sigh, “Well good thing I’m talking to about this first.”

Nami hated the defeated tone the man used and tried to reassure him, “Exactly! So, don’t get yourself down about it! This is good news, Zoro!” She wasn’t even lying about anything she said, “If you already have Zeff’s blessing, you can start to plan the proposal—so it can be really special.”

There was a lighthearted chuckle from Zoro, then he agreed, “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I need to know more about what Sanji would like. I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with her—and she’s always crying and begging me not to leave her—” His voice nearly cracked, then a moment later continued, “I don’t think she’ll say no, but I want it to be romantic cause she doesn’t think I can be and I want to surprise her. But I have no idea what to do and I need your help.”

Speechless.

Nami was speechless.

She pulled the phone away from her ear and read the contact name, just to be sure, then asked, “Am I currently speaking with Roronoa Zoro? The man who became the world’s _greatest_ swordsman before he was twenty-five? The same Roronoa Zoro who I had to drag with me to our high school prom? The guy who’s probably never been on a date in his entire life?!”

“Sanji and I had our first date last night, actually.”

Again, speechless.

Nami closed her eyes and rubbed at her temples with her free hand, “Let me get this straight, _you_ took _Sanji_ on _both_ of your _first_ date _ever_ last night?”

“Yeah,” she could hear his smirk.

“Well how’d it go?! What’d you do?!” She needed more information than what he was giving her, part of Nami was upset that Sanji hadn’t told her about any of this yet, but it only happened last night, so she’d forgive her and get the information she wanted from Zoro.

“I showed up while she was working and sent her a note to come meet me for a date. We had dinner together at her restaurant, then went on a walk to her favorite place by the cliff and that’s where Zeff caught us making out. Then we gave Zeff a ride to Sanji’s place and when we got home I took her up on the roof and we stargazed for awhile.”

Nami thought about all the things he said and imagined them happening in her head before coming to the conclusion, “That’s surprisingly romantic, coming from you.”

Zoro snorted, “I’ll take that as a compliment. But we had a nice time,” he sounded content.

Nami smiled to herself, “Well I’m happy for you both. And I’m happy for me because I’m the one who set you up.”

He groaned, “Of course you would be happy for youself… Anyway, will you help me or not?”

She rolled her eyes, “Duh, I’ll help you. What kind of matchmaker would I be if I didn’t help you plan your proposal?”

“Uh, is that a rhetorical question?”

Shaking her head, Nami began to wonder how Sanji could possibly be attracted to this imbicile, but ultimately dismissed it, “Yes, Zoro. It was.” She groaned, “You’re lucky I want you both to be happy.”

“Well, thanks, I guess.”

She scoffed, “You _guess?”_

Nami could hear Zoro take a deep breath before answering, “Thank you for helping.”

_That’s much more than I expected from him._

“You’re very welcome, Zoro. I’m happy to help! Now first things first: the ring. Have you gotten one?”

“No.”

“Okay, well now Sanji doesn’t really care about how expensive or big it is or whatever,” she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts, “She would be much more impressed with something that is unique.”

“Unique how?”

She held back the urge to roll her eyes, “Unique, Zoro! Different, unusual, something you don’t see everyday.”

“Something one of a kind, like her.”

“Yeah,” Nami was taken aback by his proclamation, “One of a kind.”

_Not a bad way to describe her._

“Does Raftel have any jewelry shops?”

She spun around to her computer and did a quick search online, “Yeah, there’s a place called _Perona’s,_ probably the owner’s name, but it has good reviews.”

There was the sound of keys jingling in the background as Zoro asked, “Where is it?”

“You want to go _now?”_

“Yeah, why not?”

“Sure, fine, whatever! I’ll tell you how to get there from your dojo—but you better listen to my directions, because I do _not_ have time for you to get lost.”

~~~~~~~~~

Ten minutes later Zoro was pulling up next to _Perona’s_ and hanging up his cell phone with the promise to call her back.

When he first walked into the place, he was surprised by how much pink there was. He had never really been to a jewelry store before, but he wasn’t expecting there to be this much pink.

Then a woman with pink _hair_ walked out from a back room, “Welcome, welcome! I am Perona, how can I help you, today?”

Zoro walked closer to one of the glass cases in the shop and looked at the fancy diamond bracelets and necklaces inside briefly before making his way to the counter she was standing behind, “I need an engagement ring, do you have anything that is one of a kind?”

She raised her eyebrow and sized him up, “Hold on for just a moment.”

Perona disappeared to the back again and Zoro was left looking around at the room. It was too much pink on the walls and floor, deep shades that were bold and blinding. The jewelry cases were filled with pink lining as well, it was inescapable.

Luckily, Perona didn’t take long and came back out with a smaller case that she opened to reveal several different rings. Immediately there was one that caught his eye and he pointed to it, “That blue one.”

A large grin appeared on her face, “You’ve got quite the eye,” Perona picked up the ring and held it out to him, “Twelve carat oval blue sapphire, cut into facets, and surrounded by fourteen solitare diamonds, the band and setting is in 18K white gold. It is a custom ring, someone had it made but couldn’t afford it in the end.”

“I’ll take it.”

She seemed a little surprised by his seriousness and told him, “It costs two-hundred-thousand—”

“I’ll take it,” he repeated with a light smile, “Do I pay with cash or a card?”

Perona looked even more surprised, “A card is fine.”

He pulled out his wallet and pulled out a card, “Is there a box?”

“I carry a standard ring box that is free with every ring purchase, otherwise there are more elaborate ones you can choose from.” She explained as she charged his card for the ring and handed it back with a recipt for him to sign.

“Standard one is fine, don’t need to overdo it,” he smirked and signed the recipt. Zoro was already beginning to imagine how Sanji might react to seeing the ring.

Perona was all smiles as she packaged the ring, probably because of how much money he just spent. “If it needs to be resized, just come back. Would you like a bag?”

He smiled and shook his head, “No, thanks.” Zoro took the ring box and a copy of his recipt from Perona with a giddy smile. But before he walked out, he opened the box and took a picture of the ring inside to send to Nami.

~~~~~~~~

Her phone went off with a new photo message from Zoro. When Nami opened it, her eyes flew wide open and her jaw dropped.

_Holy shit!_

She was calling Zoro and as soon as she heard him pick up she screamed, “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!”

“You saw the picture of the ring I got?”

“OBVIOUSLY!”

“Think Sanji will like it?”

Nami wished that Zoro was in the same room as her so she could glare into his very soul as she stated, “I think she’s going to faint.”

Zoro seemed pleased with her answer, “Cost me a pretty penny.”

She shook her head, in disbelief, “You _really_ love her.”

“Well, yeah. I want to marry her, Nami, of course I really love her.”

“That’s not what I meant, Zoro.” She sighed, “I always thought you two would like each other, but I wasn’t expecting Sanji to have this kind of impact on you.”

“What _were_ you expecting, then?”

After thinking for a moment, Nami resigned, “I don’t know, I just didn’t expect you to be so…”

_Forward, fast-paced, eager, open, mindful…_

“Happy?” Zoro asked incredulously.

She smirked, “Maybe.”

Zoro chuckled, “Yeah, well I honestly didn’t think meeting one person could change my life so drastically I would begin to wonder how I ever lived without them.”

Nami’s smile grew wider and wider as she listened to Zoro. She found it interesting that he would say such a thing, when Nami herself had wondered it herself about Sanji. After she met Sanji in college, she oftentimes wondered how great it would’ve been to have grown up with her, too. But on a deeper level, she understood what Zoro meant because she felt the same way about Vivi—she had no idea how she would live without her fiancé.

“You should propose in front of our nakama. Everyone likes her, and it would be an excuse for everyone to get together, again.”

She could tell Zoro was giving the suggestion some thought, “Do you think Sanji would like that?”

“Uhhh, maybe not…” Nami sighed, she thought that would be a good idea, but Sanji didn’t really like being the center of attention when it came to personal things.

“What if I proposed to her by the cliff?”

“Hmm? What cliff?”

“It’s her favorite place, she walks there everyday after work and watches the sunset. It was a special place to her and Zeff when she was a child. We had our first kiss there, and it’s where Zeff caught us making out.” Zoro had been rambling, but afterwards he paused and said, “That’s where I’m gonna ask her to marry me.”

“Okay, well that’s fine,” she however insisted, “I still think we should all get together to celebrate, it wouldn’t have to be as big a deal as mine and Vivi’s engagement party.”

“Nami, I still don’t know when to ask. I don’t really want to wait, but I also don’t want to freak her out.” Zoro sighed loudly, proving just how much it frustrated him.

She was also impatient, “How about I talk to Sanji again and ask her about how things are going? I won’t bring up anything about the ring or getting Zeff’s permission—it’ll just be to get a read on how she’s feeling.”

Zoro huffed, “Go for it—talk to ya later.”

They ended the call and Nami glanced at the clock on the wall in her office. It was three-fourty, which meant Sanji wouldn’t be busy cooking. She took the opportunity to give her office number a call.

After the third ring, she heard her friend’s voice answer, “This is Sanji.”

“Hey, it’s Nami!”

“Nami! Hi! I feel like we haven’t talked in forever! You’ll never guess what happened last night! Zoro took me on a _date!”_

Unfortunately, Sanji was screeching so loud it had Nami recoiling from her phone. Once Sanji had calmed down, Nami played the clueless card, “Really? I have a hard time imagining Zoro on a date, what did you do?”

“Well, he showed up during dinner and had one of my waiters bring me a note that said to meet him for a date. I was really nervous because I’d never been on a date before, but neither had Zoro. But anyway, he ordered the same thing as me—even the wine, which was Frascati—it was really cute, actually. After dinner we went for a walk to my favorite spot that’s a couple blocks away but oh god, fucking Zeff!”

Listening to Sanji go on one of her rants was rather entertaining, sometimes it seemed like she doesn’t even take a breath. Nami already knew the basic information, but had learned it from Zoro, so Sanji’s version was much more in-depth. She still realized that she needed to pretend to be uninformed, “Zeff? What about Zeff?”

Sanji groaned, “He fucking showed up, unannounced, and then lectured me about not telling _him_ that I had a boyfriend! I mean, why would I have told him about Zoro? We haven’t even been together for a week and you know how Zeff is about boyfriends. I’m lucky he didn’t castrate him or something.”

Nami couldn’t help but laugh, but played off her knowledge and asked, “So how’d it go? Zeff meeting Zoro, that is.”

“Ehhh, I don’t really know. He didn’t seem to _not_ like him and Zoro knows how much Zeff means to me—he wanted to make a good impression.”

“Huh, why do you think that is?” Nami teasingly asked.

“Shut up,” Sanji teased back, then added more seriously, “I know it’s stupid, but I want Zeff to like him, too.”

She could work with this, Nami smiled to herself and hoped for more information, “I don’t think that’s stupid.”

“Really? I mean, I know what I said the last time we talked about feeling like things were going to crash and burn between us, but I don’t really feel that way anymore.” Sanji sounded like she had something to get off her chest, “I’ve been staying at his place since Sunday.”

“How has that been?” Nami was officially in the territory of new information and she was eager to learn more.

Sanji sighed dreamily, “Amazing~”

Nami laughed, “Come on, that’s all you can give me?”

“Okay, okay,” Sanji laughed, “It’s really nice to wake up next to him every morning and know he’s waiting for me to get off from work. I don’t feel as lonely as I used to.”

Smiling happily, Nami pried for more, “Sounds like things are going really well between you two. Do you see yourself with him long-term?”

“Fuck, I hope so!” Sanji laughed again, this time she sounded more defeated, “I don’t want whatever it is we have to end.”

Hearing the dejeced tone in her friend’s voice, Nami scolded her, “Don’t be so pessimistic! Does Zoro give you a reason to think like that?”

“No,” Sanji mumbled.

“Do I have to give Zoro a call and tell him to treat you better?”

“Christ, Nami! Stop! Zoro is incredible, he’s everything I could’ve ever _dreamed_ of! I’m just afraid to lose him, is all…” Sanji grumbled sheepishly.

Nami grinned with delight, “If you say so… But I’m still going to give him a call and tell him he better not do anything reckless.”

Sanji softly chuckled, “Alright, you do that. Talk soon, bye.”

“Later!” Nami ended the call with Sanji and began to call Zoro, again.

“Hey, Nami what’s up?”

“I’ve got good news.”

Before she could explain what it was, Zoro began to ask, “What? What did Sanji say?”

She rolled her eyes, but indulged him, “She’s totally in love with you. Sanji wants to be with you long-term, but worries that something will happen, and she’ll lose you.”

Zoro groaned, clearly frustrated, “She’s always saying that…”

“Back in college a lot of guys would just sleep with her and leave, so it doesn’t really surprise me that she worries you will do the same. I asked her if you gave her any reason to think that way and she shut right up.”

There was a long sigh on the other end from Zoro, “So, what do you think I should do?”

Nami thought for a moment, then said, “Play it by ear. You’ve got Zeff’s permission and the ring, you know where you want it to be—just see how things go and wait for the right opportunity.”

Zoro sighed, “Okay,” he let out a shaky breath, “Fuck, I’m really nervous.”

She resisted the urge to laugh and sympathized with him, “Yeah I was nervous to ask Vivi, it’s a big deal, but I know you can do it.”

“Yeah,” Zoro sounded lost in his mind, but since it’s Zoro, he might actually be lost.

“Are you back at your dojo, yet?” She had to ask, not trusting that Zoro could find his way back since she had to give him directions in the first place.

“No,” he grumbled bitterly.

“Tell me what street you’re on, I’ll help you get back.”

~~~~~~~~

When Zoro arrived back at his dojo, it was almost five o’clock, but before he was going to go get dinner, he needed to decide where to put the ring.

_Should I hide it somewhere? But what if I forget where I put it? Or what if Sanji finds it somewhere? I could keep it with me, but what if I lose it? Maybe I could lock it up with my katana…but then I wouldn’t have it with me if I needed it. Fuck! What should I do?!_

Zoro pulled the ring box out of his pocket to look at it again. The box was thankfully black, not pink like everything else in that store. He liked that the box itself was plain and insignificant—similar to the box his earrings had. It was only once it was opened he was rewarded with the sight of the ring he bought. The large blue gem reminded Zoro of Sanji’s eyes, it was stunning and beautiful—just like Sanji.

He stared at the ring, snuggly tucked into the black ring box and wondered how long he would be able to wait until he gave it to the woman he bought it for. There was a part of him that told him he was crazy for even buying a ring for her so soon. This was the sane part of his brain that tried to remind Zoro that what he had done wasn’t normal—that no man should buy a ring worth a small fortune with the intent to marry the woman he gives it to after knowing her for two weeks.

However, that voice was overpowered, for Zoro’s heart was stronger than his brain. The passion and love he felt for Sanji outweighed anything and everything that logic and reason could throw at him. Zoro was a man of action—his profession was not for the weak and he got to where he was today because of what his body was capable of. He listened to his body and what his body told him. The way he felt when he was with Sanji was unlike anything he’s ever experienced. Zoro knew what was real, he knew what he had found with Sanji was special. He had never felt so sure of anything in all his life.

With one last look at the ring, Zoro closed the box and put it in his pocket. He remembered Nami’s words, ‘Play it by ear,’ and decided it would be best to keep it on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> So I have a few important things to say about this chapter and the story in general.  
> 1\. The engagement ring in this chapter is based on Kate Middleton's ring from Prince William. I thought the look of the ring would fit Sanji's personality quite well and decided to put it in the story.  
> 2\. I need to know what people think of Zoro proposing so soon--any feedback or thoughts on the matter would be very much appreciated.  
> 3\. Going off my previous point, I am curious to know what people think of the conflict or lack of conflict between Sanji and Zoro. I have been brainstorming and imagining things like 'what if I make Zoro get hit by a car to protect Sanji and then he wakes up in the hospital and can't remember anything from the past two weeks (basically since he met Sanji) and doesn't remember everything until he finds the ring in his pants pocket' or some shit like that lol  
> But yeah, honestly, I am feeling like there needs to be something to happen between them and I keep thinking of things about one of them losing their memory from the time they met. It isn't very realistic from the twenty minutes of research I put into it online, but I dunno, shit's complicated and this is a work of fiction. (Also this is something I don't know exactly when it would be placed in the timeline of things, could be next chapter, could be in twenty chapters)  
> 4\. On another note, I have been wanting to write some scenes between Zoro, Sanji and the rest of the crew now that they are together. I don't know exactly when or how I will put it into the storyline yet. I don't know if I want it to be before or after they are engaged, or I've considered having it while they visit.
> 
> Anyway, I would love to hear from you, my readers. I'm always happy to hear from you :) 
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


	18. Smoker and Tashigi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
> 
> Chapter 18 takes place a week after chapter 17.

_What the hell am I thinking? This is a terrible idea… Why did I come here?_

Smoker was standing outside of the new flower shop that opened in Raftel by the hospital. He wasn’t sure _why_ he decided to listen to Roronoa—it wasn’t like he had any reason to buy flowers… But maybe there was a small part of him that was curious to meet whoever owned this place—to see why Roronoa even mentioned it to begin with.

In the years Smoker has known the guy, he never seemed the type to be interested in relationships. He always seemed to be moody or grumpy, too focused on training for anything else. So, when Smoker saw him with all those hickeys last week, he was rather surprised. He didn’t argue with Momonosuke when he said it was from getting in a fight—the kid was only ten and didn’t need to know what they were really from.

It has, admittedly, been a while since he dated—perhaps that’s why it took a week to get the nerve to consider coming here. But there were simply things of higher priority in his life—like taking care of Momonosuke and his job—Smoker didn’t have time to worry about having a partner. Although he would be the first person to admit it was hard being a single parent, Smoker had raised Momonosuke since he was a few years old and has enjoyed watching him grow. There were plenty of times he wished there was someone else he could share those moments with—the good and bad ones.

_Maybe that’s why I’m here… Roronoa did think I’d like her…_

He smothered the cigars he had been stress smoking and found himself unbuttoning his uniform, taking Roronoa’s advice to show some skin. Then before he could back out, he walked up to the front door of the shop and pushed it open to step inside.

The first thing that hit him was the overwhelming smell of flowers.

The second thing he noticed was how colorful it was.

The third and final thing that caught Smoker’s immediate attention was the dark-haired woman who looked up at him through red-framed glasses as he walked into the shop.

“Hello! Welcome to _Ranga Cho!_ Is there anything I can help you with?” Her voice was soft, sweet, and calming.

Normally he would be able to respond and have a conversation without any problem. But the longer he looked at her, the more mesmerized he felt.

Apparently, he was staring far longer than he realized, because the woman questioningly blinked at him and asked, “Are you alright?”

Smoker closed his mouth, he hoped it wasn’t open for too long. Then he cleared his throat and stepped closer to the counter she was standing behind, “My apologies, miss. I’m alright, I was just stopping by to welcome you to town.”

She stared back at him curiously, “Why would you do that?”

“Uh,” Smoker was grateful for his job right now and told her, “I’m the chief of police, name’s Smoker.”

Luckily, she bought his excuse and enthusiastically smiled at him as she offered her hand, “Oh! Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, sir! I’m Tashigi.”

Her excitement was flattering but made him a little uncomfortable, Smoker didn’t want her to think she could get away with something just because they’d met. People tended to do that when he found out about his position—they would think he wouldn’t care if they broke the law because they were ‘friends.’

Still, Smoker shook her hand and was surprised by how strong her grip was. She was still smiling as she said, “My father was a cop. It’s a tough job.”

He stared at her curiously, “Did you ever think of doing it yourself?”

Tashigi shook her head, “No. He was killed during an armed robbery when I was still young.”

Smoker’s expression grew somber, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

She shrugged it off, “No worries, I’m happy doing this and I know he would be proud of me—mom says he would be.”

“Did she raise you on her own?” Smoker realized this conversation was getting very personal, very fast, but he couldn’t help it—he wanted to know more about this woman.

Tashigi didn’t seem alarmed by his questions either, “Yeah, after dad died, it was just mom and I… Sometimes I wish she would’ve remarried, made it easier on her, but she insists that dad was the only man for her and that they were ‘made for each other,’” there was a sad bitterness in her smile.

  _Isn’t that what Zoro said about him and his girlfriend…?_

“Do you think that’s true?” He asked.

She adjusted her glasses and tilted her head sideways, “Do I think what is true?”

“That people can be made for each other.” It wasn’t necessarily what he had originally meant to ask, but Smoker thought it was a better question.

Tashigi seemed to give it some thought before sighing, “I guess so, why? Do you?”

He couldn’t help but smile, “I do now.”

~~~~~

Tashigi knew she was blushing.

_What the hell is that supposed to mean? Is he…hitting on me?_

She had known this man for no more than five minutes and he seemed to be implying that he now thought people were made for each other.

_Is this for real? No, this can’t really be happening._

The silence was stretching between them, with every moment that went by Tashigi felt as if she was going to wake up from a dream she was having. There was no way that this man, this _incredibly sexy man,_ was interested in a plain and boring person like herself. She already had faced rejection from Zoro last week, and although she hadn’t _necessarily_ been interested in a romantic relationship with him, she _was_ disappointed he said he didn’t find her attractive.

Suddenly, Smoker cleared his throat, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable…”

“Oh,” Tashigi shook her head, “No! No, don’t be—I’m just…dreaming.”

He raised his eyebrow and stared at her very curiously, “No you’re not.”

_Oh my god! This has got to stop!_

Tashigi tried pinching her arm, closing her eyes tightly then reopening them, but everytime, Smoker was still standing in front of her. Upon closer inspection, he appeared to be in his thirties but his white hair, the stubble upon his chisled jaw, and the lines on his face all made him look older.

She blurted out, “Wait, do you like me?”

Smoker paused for a moment before leaning against the counter and saying, “I do so far, and that doesn’t happen often.”

Yeah, she was _definitely_ blushing. Tashigi honestly didn’t know how to handle this. _This_ never happened to her before—how could it?! She was a simple person who lived a simple life—she wasn’t expecting this to happen. She wasn’t prepared for something like _this._ What even was this?

“I don’t even know you…” Why was she trying to come up with excuses?

“Are you free for dinner tonight?”

“Um, well, I didn’t have anything planned…”

“Then it’s a date.”

“What?” No wonder she was coming up with excuses…

“I’ll pick you up at six,” Smoker smirked at her before he left the shop.

She could not believe he just asked her out on a date. Tashigi felt her cheeks burning up from blushing so hard, but she was also a little pissed off.

_Do I have no say in the matter? He didn’t even ask—he assumed I would agree! Not like he was wrong…_

“Ughhh!” She took off her glasses and rubbed at her eyes, “Why does he have to be a cop?! He might arrest me if I stood him up…”

~~~~~

When Smoker pulled up next to _Ranga Cho,_ he was feeling nervous.

_What if she doesn’t want to? What if she doesn’t even like me? What would she even think about Momonosuke—would she be put off?_

There were about a million questions running through his mind. Smoker stepped out of his vehicle and walked toward the flower shop.

That was when Tashigi stepped out the front door and locked it behind her, “Hello, Smoker.”

He grinned back at her, “Tashigi.”

For a moment, Smoker was too distracted by his sudden rush of happiness to do anything other than smile at her. He probably looked like an idiot, or a creep.

But no, Tashigi began to blush—she was cute.

He took a few steps closer, unable to prevent the soft smile that formed on his lips, “Are you ready to go?”

Tashigi slowly nodded her head and said, “Yes, I hope what I’m wearing is fine…” She was wearing a lavender button-up blouse and dark jeans—the same thing she had on earlier.

Smoker’s smile widened, “You look better than I do.” He was still wearing his uniform, like always.

She turned away from him as a light pink blush crossed her cheeks, “Thanks—Uh wait!” Tashigi’s blush grew darker as she looked him in the eyes, “I think you look nice.” Then she lowered her gaze to the ground, clearly embarrassed.

Not wanting her to get so worked up over a little thing, Smoker touched her arm, “Relax, you look beautiful.”

A small noise came from her mouth as if she was caught off-guard, but her cheeks were a deep crimson.

He felt bad for embarrassing her, so he tried to change the subject, “Is there anywhere specific you’d like to go?”

_“All Blue.”_

At first Smoker was shocked she replied so quickly, he would’ve teased her about it if she wasn’t already so embarrassed, so he smiled and led the way to his car, “Great choice, best seafood in town.”

“Really?” She looked intrigued, “I started taking lessons at the dojo next door but haven’t been there yet.”

He opened the passenger-side door for Tashigi, “My kid goes there for lessons, too.” Upon seeing the look of surprise on her face, Smoker realized his slip-up, “Uh, his name’s Momonosuke, he’s ten. I uh, I adopted him.”

Tashigi stared at him blankly, then asked, “So do you know Zoro?” Then she stuttered, “I-I mean, I didn’t mean to—I think it’s a wonderful thing you did.”

She was back to her beautiful, blushing self; Smoker normally would feel irritated by such behavior, but he felt his own stomach twisting in knots at the very sight.

Once her words finally processed, Smoker chuckled, “He can be quite the handful sometimes… But yeah, I know Zoro—think his girlfriend owns _All Blue.”_

“She does,” Tashigi quipped back as she sat in the car. He closed the door once she was inside and walked around to his own seat.

“Have you met her?” He asked, inquisitively.

Tashigi shook her head, already buckled into her seatbelt, “No, but he told me about her when he bought her flowers last week.”

Smoker smirked as he started the engine and buckled his own seatbelt, “He told me about her after I said something about the hickeys he had.”

That made Tashigi blush again, “Was he at least wearing a shirt?”

He began driving towards _All Blue,_ chuckling, “Yes, he usually doesn’t so it was a nice surprise.”

“I wish he’d been wearing one when I showed up for my lesson the other day,” she grumbled.

Her comment had Smoker thinking about what Zoro had said about Tashigi being affected by shirtless-ness… Was Zoro misinterpreting embarrassment for interest because he had simply been covered in hickeys? He shook his head to dismiss the thought, “Yeah, I believe it.”

There was a comfortable silence between them as Smoker drove through town. He wasn’t sure if she would agree to this date in the first place, then everything about Momonosuke got brought up—but Tashigi seemed to become more and more relaxed as they neared their destination.

~~~~

Upon entering _All Blue,_ Tashigi was immediately wishing she was wearing something fancier, because the restaurant was certainly classy and elegant. She felt a little relieved being with Smoker, though. The man was the chief of police and wearing a uniform, and she was here with him.

_Oh no! What will people think?!_

They were led to a table and handed menus, Tashigi was feeling incredibly self-conscious, and no matter who she was with or what she was wearing, she was certain to feel this way when visiting such a nice place.

As soon as the host left their table, Smoker was asking, “Are you alright?”

She looked up at him and could see the concern in his eyes, “I didn’t realise this was such a nice place…”

There was the slightest hint of a blush on his cheeks, “Yeah, well you’re a nice woman and I don’t mind taking you somewhere like this.”

Tashigi couldn’t recall a time she had blushed this much in her life. It was astounding how much one man could make her blush, just by being sweet. “Thank you,” she gave him a shy smile and began looking at the menu, “I never come to places like this.”

“Feel free to order whatever you want, my treat.” His eyes were kind as he smiled a her and Tashigi knew he meant it.

~~~~~

After they ordered their food and were brought their drinks, Smoker began to talk more freely with his date, “So, what made you decide to come to Raftel?”

She adjusted her glasses before beginning to speak, “I really love the town, I’ve visited a few times with my mom and it’s been my dream to live here.”

Her answer made him smile, “Has it lived up to your expectations?”

Tashigi took a drink of her lemon water and nodded, “I think so, the people are nice, so far business has been good. I haven’t been here for very long, but I think it was the right thing for me.”

Smoker was grinning, something he didn’t do often, “I’m glad. Also, I should thank you for actually coming. I’m not one for dating, so I’m not that great at asking people out.”

That made her laugh, “You didn’t really ask.”

He felt sheepish, “I know… Sorry.”

She smiled at him, “It’s alright, I’m having a nice time so far.”

Before he had a chance to speak, Tashigi was pointing over his shoulder towards the entrance. Smoker turned around and spotted a familiar head of green hair, “Is that Zoro?”

“I believe so,” she politely asked, “Is he wearing a tie?”

Smoker laughed, “Yeah, he is.”

He turned back towards his date and saw she was smiling, “I haven’t known him for very long, but that doesn’t seem like something he usually does.”

“It’s not. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him wear something like that before.”

“I wonder what his girlfriend is like,” Tashigi added.

“Don’t know,” he shrugged, “I’ve never met her.”

She adjusted her glasses and met his gaze, “Don’t you know everyone in town as police chief?”

He wasn’t sure if she was trying to call him out for his excuse for meeting her earlier, but Smoker could tell as he looked into her eyes she was genuinely curious. He blinked a few times to clear his mind, “I guess I know what she looks like, but not personally.”

“Oh, really? What’s she look like?”

As he was trying to think of how to describe her, she came walking out of a doorway. Smoker pointed in her direction, “That’s her, the blonde in the blue dress.”

~~~~~~

Tashigi wasn’t sure what she was expecting, certainly someone beautiful—just not what she saw. When she turned to look at the woman Smoker was pointing to, Tashigi was stunned to silence.

Sanji was gorgeous, no stunning—no words could describe just how flawless she looked. The way her blonde hair was pulled up onto her head in a beautiful updo, the sublte make up application that only enhanced a natural beauty; her dress was so much more than ‘blue’—it fit her perfectly and showed off her figure that every woman wished she had. Even the way she walked was perfect and looked elegant.

As Tashigi watched Sanji’s hips sway gracefully walking towards the stage she first saw when they arrived, she noticed it was now filled with musicians. She was unable to turn away and instead, turned her chair to get a better view and leaned over to Smoker, “Is there live music?”

He cleared his throat, “Uh, yeah—most week nights she comes out to sing.”

She turned to look at him and saw he was sitting straight up in his seat, then fixed her own posture. Music began with a steady beat and it wasn’t long before she heard the powerful singing voice held inside. (“Halo” Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox version)

 _Remember those walls I built_  
Well, baby, they're tumbling down  
And they didn't even put up a fight  
They didn't even make a sound

 _I found a way to let you win_  
But I never really had a doubt  
Standing in the light of your halo  
I got my angel now

 _It's like I've been awakened_  
Every rule I had you breaking  
It's the risk that I'm taking  
I ain't never gonna shut you out

 _Everywhere I'm looking now_  
I'm surrounded by your embrace  
Baby, I can see your halo  
You know you're my saving grace

 _You're everything I need and more_  
It's written all over your face  
Baby, I can feel your halo  
I pray it won't fade away

_Halo, hey, halo, halo, halo  
Halo, hey, halo, halo, halo _

_Halo, hey, halo, halo, halo_

_Halo, hey, halooo_

_Ya hit me like a ray of sun_  
Burning through my darkest night  
You're the only one that I want  
Think I'm addicted to your light

 _I swore I'd never fall again_  
But this don't even feel like falling  
Gravity can't forget  
To pull me back to the ground again

 _It’s like I've been awakened_  
Every rule I had you breaking  
It’s the risk that I'm taking  
I'm never gonna shut you out

 _Everywhere I'm looking now_  
I'm surrounded by your embrace  
Baby, I can see your halo  
You know you're my saving grace

 _You're everything I need and more_  
It's written all over your face  
Baby, I can feel your halo  
I pray it won't fade away

_Halo, hey, halo, halo, halo  
Halo, hey, halo, halo, halo _

_Halo, hey, halo, halo, halo_

_Halo, hey, halooo_

She danced around the stage as a man with an afro played a saxophone solo. Tashigi had honestly never heard someone sing so well in her life. Sanji was amazing—so much better than what you’d expect from a restaurant owner in a small town.

_Halooo-ooo Ooooo_

_Everywhere I'm looking now_  
I'm surrounded by your embrace  
Baby, I can see your halo  
You know you're my saving grace

 _You're everything I need and more_  
It's written all over your face  
Baby, I can feel your halo  
I pray it won't fade away

_Yayyy halo, hey, halo, halo, halo  
Halo, hey, halo, halo, halo _

_Halo, hey, halo, halo, halo_

_Halo, hey, haloooo-ooo_

~~~~~~~

Smoker was happy to see Tashigi enjoying the music, he personally didn’t care either way. Sure, she had a nice voice and could draw a crowd, but that didn’t really interest him.

No, he was much more interested in watching the way Roronoa was staring at her like nothing else mattered. Which actually made sense, since she was clearly singing about the guy.

From where he was sitting, Smoker had a good view of the green-haired man. It was the first time he had ever seen him look at anyone in awe. It was quite obvious he was smitten with her, anyone would be able to see that. Normally, Smoker wouldn’t care about someone’s relationship, but it was nice to see Roronoa acting like a regular guy.

Another song began with a much slower softer melody, then another few instruments came in before she started singing again. (“Sweetest Devotion” by Adele)

 _With your loving, there ain't nothing_  
That I can't adore  
The way I'm running, with you, honey  
Means we can break every law  
I find it funny that you're the only  
One I never looked for  
There is something in your loving  
That tears down my walls

 _I wasn't ready then, I'm ready now_  
I'm heading straight for you  
You will only be eternally  
The one that I belong to

 _The sweetest devotion_  
Hitting me like an explosion  
All of my life, I've been frozen  
The sweetest devotion I've known

Between watching his date and Roronoa, Smoker was too intruiged to pay any attention to the actual performers. Tashigi looked pleased, contently eating her meal as she watched the show. Roronoa on the other hand was ignoring his dinner and only drank straight from a bottle of what appeared to be sake as his eye never left the woman on stage.

 _I'll forever be whatever you want me to be_  
I'll go under and all over for your clarity  
When you wonder if I'm gonna lose my way home  
Just remember, that come whatever, I'll be yours all alone

 _I wasn't ready then, I'm ready now_  
I'm heading straight for you  
You will only be eternally  
The one that I belong to

 _The sweetest devotion_  
Hitting me like an explosion  
All of my life, I've been frozen  
The sweetest devotion I've known

The atmosphere of the room changed when she came down from the stage with the microphone in-hand and began walking towards Roronoa.

 _I've been looking for you, baby_  
In every face that I've ever known  
And there is something 'bout the way you love me  
That finally feels like home  
You're my light, you're my darkness  
You're the right kind of madness  
And you're my hope, you're my despair  
You're my scope, everything, everywhere

She had sat down in his lap and whispered something in his ear before heading back up towards the stage. One thing Smoker noticed is Roronoa began eating his food, all while the crowd was cheering and whistling at them.

 _The sweetest devotion_  
Hitting me like an explosion  
All of my life, I've been frozen  
The sweetest devotion I've known

 _Sweetest_  
It's the sweetest  
Sweetest  
It's the sweetest  
Sweetest  
It's the sweetest  
Sweetest  
It's the sweetest  
Devotion

~~~~~

For the past couple weeks, Zoro had been coming to _All Blue_ every night Sanji worked, which was Monday through Friday. He didn’t order anymore, they knew what he wanted and would bring it to him once they saw him arrive. Zoro assumed the wait-staff enjoyed serving him since he always left them large tips.

Nearly every night Sanji would come out and sing love songs, always for him. There was something intoxicating about the way she sang, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the bottle of sake he always consumed. Sanji was incredible, every night she sang all eyes were on her. Zoro wasn’t surprised—Sanji deserved praise and recognition for her talents—however there was always a guy or two who would look at her the wrong way.

Tonight, there was one guy who looked about ready to murder Zoro after Sanji’s little stunt. She danced over to his lap just to tell him not to let his food get cold. Now, there was some guy staring daggers at him. It wasn’t like he couldn’t handle the guy, but he wanted to just ignore him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible.

Eventually, the man made his way over to Zoro’s table and asked, “Hey, are you with Sanji?”

Zoro set down his silverware and turned to look at the man who interrupted his meal. He seemed to be in his thirties, had tanned skin, black hair and stubble. There was nothing particularily remarkable about him, but Zoro got the feeling that he was significant somehow.

“Gin, what are you doing here?” Sanji appeared at their table with her arms crossed and her voice laced with venom.

The man, Gin, didn’t seem fazed by her tone of voice, “Sanji! It’s so great to see you!”

“Get out of my restaurant.” The way she said it sent a shiver down his spine, in that moment Zoro knew this guy was bad news.

Instead of waiting around, Zoro took the initiative and stood from his seat, “Come on, I’ll show you out.”

At first, Zoro thought there was going to be a problem, but Gin left on his own. Or at least that’s what he thought until Sanji suddenly shouted, “Zoro, look out!”

When he turned around, he was able to grab Gin’s wrist before he hit him. Zoro twisted his arm until he fell to his knees, “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”

Gin yelled, “Officer, help me! This man has attacked me!”

_What the hell? I didn’t attack him—he attacked me!_

From his left, Zoro heard a familiar voice, “What I saw was self-defence—I suggest you take him outside Roronoa.”

He smirked up at Smoker when he noticed Tashigi with him, “My pleasure.” Zoro grabbed Gin’s upper arm and pulled him up from the ground, then led him towards the door.

Once they were outside, he pinned Gin against the wall, “I don’t know who the hell you are, but if you’re interested in Sanji—forget about it—cause she’s mine.”

“I had her first,” Gin began to laugh like a madman. It took a lot out of him to restrain himself from hitting the guy.

Zoro rolled his eyes and shoved himself away, “I don’t care what you did—it’s in the past.”

Before he could hear another word from that lunatic, Zoro went back inside to his table where Sanji was still sitting, looking as if she just saw a ghost.

When he sat down across from her, she stayed still and didn’t move until he touched her hand resting on the table, “Oh… sorry.” Sanji moved her hand away and seemed to be staring at nothing.

“Sanji, are you okay?” Zoro had never seen her like this, he was worried, “Should I take you home?”

She slowly began nodding her head. Zoro didn’t know which question she was answering ‘yes’ to, but he was bringing her home.

~~~~~~

Tashigi stared, wide-eyed, as Zoro helped Sanji down a hallway. It was quite honestly the most romantic and passionate display of affections she had ever seen. They both played off their strengths to tell the other how much they meant to each other. Sanji could sing and use her voice to tell him to look out, and Zoro used his strength to defend himself and take care of her.

She sighed contently, “That was really amazing.”

“Amazing?” He scoffed, “I almost had to do police work on our date.”

“That’s true,” she giggled, “But you didn’t. Zoro and Sanji are cute together.”

Smoker shrugged, “I suppose… You know—he’s the one who told me about your shop.”

“Really?”

He nodded his head, “Yeah, he actually thought I’d like you—guess he was right.”

She felt herself blush and found herself unable to speak. Tashigi had a really nice time, it had been ages since she’d been on a date, she had never been good at this type of thing and had no idea what to do.

Suddenly, Smoker’s hand was on hers, “Tashigi, I’d like to see you again.”

“I’d like that,” she smiled at him.

~~~~~

After paying their bill and leaving the restaurant, Smoker walked Tashigi back to his vehicle. He placed his hand on her lower back and led the way, “What’re you doing Friday night?”

Tashigi gave it some thought, “Nothing… Unless you have something in mind?”

Her smile was hopeful, Smoker returned it, “Would you like to come over for dinner?”

“Like to your place?” She looked surprised, then turned nervous, “Could I meet your son?”

Smoker smiled wider, “Yeah, you can meet Momonosuke.”

He opened the car door for her, but instead of getting in right away, Tashigi gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.

It was unexpected to say the least, but not unwelcome. Smoker wouldn’t mind getting a few more of those, or more…

Once he was inside the car and started the engine, he asked, “Where do you live?”

“The apartments by the hospital,” she answered.

He nodded his head and began the short drive over to her building. They drove in comfortable silence, it was almost as if they did this all the time, maybe they will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> I am super excited to share this chapter with you all because it means I can finally continue with this story.   
> Sorry for the time skip, I just felt it was necessary so I can get the plot moving along.  
> Leave a comment and let me know what you think!
> 
> xoxoLadyLiberal


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